FIFA to Investigate Qatar Bribery Allegations
Calls from around the globe for Qatar to lose their 2022 World Cup hosting duties are being heard loud and clear by FIFA as they investigate bribery allegations.
The U.K.'s Sunday Times recently obtained millions of secret documents including emails, letters, and bank transfers showing a paper-trail of $5 million dollars being spent to sway FIFA to bestow the honor of being the first Middle Eastern country to host a World Cup tournament.
The Sunday Times claims that Qatari football official Mohamed bin Hammam spent $5 million trying to buy the necessary votes to bring the World Cup to the Persian Gulf country. Bin Hammam, the former president of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), is a polarizing figure within FIFA, having served as a member of the governing body's 24-person executive committee in charge of determining who wins the World Cup bids.
According to the English newspaper, bin Hammam ran 10 different slush funds to pay off 30 African football officials and ponied up $1.6 million to former FIFA vice president Jack Warner. He also funneled money from Goal Programme, FIFA's program that provides funds for soccer development projects in poorer countries.
"We've seen millions of documents that prove without a shadow of doubt that corruption was involved. There is clear evidence linking payments to people who have influence over the decision of who hosted the World Cup," said Sarah Baxter, deputy editor of the Sunday Times, in an interview with CNN. "You also have a bunch of officials with a bearing on the vote begging favors. They were prepared to sell their influence. What bin Hammam was doing was buying people up who could have influence."
Bin Hammam was banned by FIFA in 2011 -- found guilty of bribery as he tried to buy FIFA presidential votes -- before the decision was reversed by the Court of Arbitration for Sports ruling there was not enough evidence to support the punishment. FIFA banned bin Hammam again in 2012 for conflict-of-interest while president of the AFC.
"The bid was tainted. We are not saying there's no right of the Middle East to host the World Cup. But Qatar won through corrupt means," said Baxter. "How can you host the World Cup with integrity? That is why they should press for the vote to be rerun. And if not they should be forced. FIFA's reputation is at stake. It is crying out for reform."
Soccer officials are pushing for a re-vote should the allegations prove to be true, with FIFA ethics investigator Michael Garcia set to make his report public in six weeks.