Note hints Spain-Portugal and Qatar in the clear 11/11/2010 |
|
| |
| |
The Spain-Portugal and Qatar World Cup bids are set to escape punishment over allegations of collusion.
Fifa launched an investigation after claims the two bids agreed to vote for one another in the 2018 and 2022 races respectively.
But the emergence of a note passed between Spanish member Angel Villar Llona and Mohamed Bin Hammam from Qatar suggests Fifa will take no further action.
Llona is said to have written 'Congratulations, vamos a ganar', which translates as 'We are going to win', during the Fifa executive meeting on October 29 in Zurich.
It was assumed that this message meant the Spanish and Qatari bids would be successful in December's vote.
However, USA's executive committee member Chuck Blazer, who saw the note, believes it relates to Llona's confidence that the two nations will escape sanction from Fifa's ethics committee over the allegations of collusion.
Blazer said: "It is more likely the note referred to the subject that the previous conversation had been about. That discussion had been about the ethics committee and the fact that nobody had provided any hard evidence [of collusion].
"I don't think it was the time or place. I think Mohamed was slightly embarrassed. It's the type of thing that shouldn't have happened but nothing more than that."
The joint bid from Spain and Portugal is competing with England, Russia and Holland-Belgium for the 2018 World Cup, while Qatar faces competition from the USA, Australia, South Korea and Japan for 2022 hosting rights.
|
| Back |
| |
| |
|
|
 |
Advertisement
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
