The FIFA Bribe Scandal...

Sanji Himura

Sanji Himura

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United States
Azle, TX
supermanfromazle
SanjiHimura
This is sort of breaking news, seeing as I am on the other side of the globe, but news.com.au is reporting that an investigation held by FIFA has found that Qatar has bribed key members of the World Cup selection committee to the tune of $5.4 million (Australian) to secure the rights to host the 2022 World Cup tournament, despite the fact that that the desert country's arid conditions make any sort of competition virtually impossible.

The investigation is being independently confirmed by American lawyer Michael Garcia.

According to FIFA's investigation, Mohammed Bin Hammam, former president of the Asian Football Confederation, showered members with trips and gifts in an attempt to secure their vote. In one such incident, Hammam flew 25 African delegates to Kuala Lumpur to discuss the bid, and during that meeting, Hammam reportedly handed over $215,000 in cash. Another incident alleges that former head of Caribbean football Jack Warner was paid $485,000 before the 2010 bid.

Bin Hammam was banned from FIFA for life in 2011 after attempting to bribe officials to secure votes for the FIFA presidency.

Australia was eliminated from the 2022 cup in the first round after receiving only one vote. In later rounds, Japan, South Korea and the US were knocked out in favor of Qatar.
 
I think it was obvious right from the start that there was something seriously wrong with that bid. Just no reason whatsoever to give Qatar the World Cup; they don't have any venues with proper facilities, no history/heritage of football, their domestic league is weak, their national team is mediocre, harsh climate, etc.
Really the only thing they had was money, which is all that was necessary apparently.

Obviously the right thing to do IMO would be to pull the World Cup from them, but considering they're already building the venues and preparing everything, it would be a huge mess, and I don't think FIFA has the guts to do it.
 
I think the title is misleading. All they have demonstrated is that bin Hamman bribed those officials. They would need to prove that the Qatari football association had knowledge of it.

Remember, the Australian media largely expected the Australian bid to win. I still remember the backlash when we only got a single vote (but for all Qatar's shortcomings, at least they had more than celebrities talking about how great the country is). Deep down, there is probably still an expectation that if the votes are cast again, Australia will not just submit another bid, but be a contender. Although time might have dampened their enthusiasm - the hype came after our performance in Germany in 2006, and South Africa 2010 came as a real shock to the system.

Most of this is coming from the commercial networks who don't cover football beyond a thirty-second wrap in the evening news after the league and AFL results. It's actually refreshing to see the SBS be honest in their coverage.
 
Australia would be far, far preferable to Qatar (despite still being a bit on the hot side, but it would be winter in Australia in July 2022 wouldn't it?)

If it is established that Qatar were gifted the World Cup through corrupt means, they should be stripped of the tournament and heads should roll at FIFA. What are the chances of it happening though? Even without any corruption claims, however, the decision to award Qatar the World Cup was utterly bonkers.

At least there is still plenty of time to make a change... deciding the 2022 World Cup location in 2010 was bizarre in itself, and there's still 8 whole years for another candidate to get their bid together again...
 
Touring Mars
Australia would be far, far preferable to Qatar (despite still being a bit on the hot side, but it would be winter in Australia in July 2022 wouldn't it?)

If it is established that Qatar were gifted the World Cup through corrupt means, they should be stripped of the tournament and heads should roll at FIFA. What are the chances of it happening though? Even without any corruption claims, however, the decision to award Qatar the World Cup was utterly bonkers.

At least there is still plenty of time to make a change... deciding the 2022 World Cup location in 2010 was bizarre in itself, and there's still 8 whole years for another candidate to get their bid together again...
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FIFA won't strip them of the event. Common sense though will make sure they never get the event again if they do end up holding it. The combination of switching the schedule for them, the poor infrastructure and the evident lack of interest in their workers is not going to help their image. On top of that (it's unlikely), but what happens if Israel qualifies for the 2022 World Cup? Based on past instances (an Israeli tennis player was banned from playing in Qatar because she was Israeli), they will not be allowed entry and there's nothing FIFA can do. All of this will guarantee that Qatar's first World Cup hosting duties will indeed be its' only.
 
The entire city where the 2022 final is scheduled to take place hasn't even been built yet.

Nah, no way. FIFA won't have the balls to take it away from them.
 
The KNVB (Dutch football) are already saying that if it is true it should be taken away drom Qatar, because it would seriously comprise the integrity of the FIFA. But, these guys crawled so far up Blatter's ass they can brush the back of his teeth.
 
All I can hope for is that the players (the more famous, the better) would openly boycott the tournament unless relocated.
 
How naiv would it be to think that these global non regulated entities are not corrupt to the bone.

FIA, FIFA, and all the rest are corrupted as it goes.

Remember this investigation is lead by the FIFA! Non sense. Imagine what would come out if it was lead by a neutral party.
It's like reading a review for a Golf done by VW!

Money makes the world go around. Always has, always been. Sadly.

I heard a story a few years ago of the president of Medecin sans frontiere driving a Ferrari as Company Car. Makes totally sense
 
Well it just shows what Blatter thinks of football as a whole when he said "The 2022 World Cup will probably be moved - to winter." How can he justify that most major domestic leagues are going to have to rearrange their calendars to accommodate the tournament? What's going to happen when it's over? European football will suffer either because domestic seasons will shift to summer, or there will be a massive 4-month long gap if the season is restored to its original structure.
 
Touring Mars
Australia would be far, far preferable to Qatar (despite still being a bit on the hot side, but it would be winter in Australia in July 2022 wouldn't it?)
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Perhaps, but allegations of vote-rigging aside, we still bombed out with a single vote. If the bid process was carried out again, I would expect someone else - like the USA - to get it.
 
When was the last time a country hosted the World Cup for a second time? At the moment everyone seems to be getting a bite of the cherry. It's been just 20 years since the USA last hosted the World Cup and only 12 since Japan/South Korea did.

I could see Australia getting it in a recall vote on the basis that it hasn't hosted it yet.
 
Liquid
I could see Australia getting it in a recall vote on the basis that it hasn't hosted it yet.
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It would have to be done on an extremely tight budget. Certainly there would not be any new stadiums, and existing stadiums probably wouldn't get upgraded except to have a football pitch added in. And it would face tight opposition from the rugby league and AFL teams, as both codes are more popular than football, and they play throughout the winter.
 
Going further, perhaps an Australia/New Zealand co-host? To share the costs and ease the fixture congestion for other Australian sports.
 
Let me Hammam you a large bag of money, friend!

YES! QATAR HOSTING NOW!
 
Australia (or the USA) could host the tournament next week if they had to, and I bet they wouldn't need to build a giant vagina to do it either.

Also, FIFA have allowed Qatar to break one of the key rules that applied to every other candidate by allowing all 8 World Cup stadia to be located within a 12 mile radius of Doha, meaning that the entire tournament will be played in a region smaller than London.
 
What would that accomplish besides being a GIANT money grab by the construction firms?
 
Touring Mars
Australia (or the USA) could host the tournament next week if they had to, and I bet they wouldn't need to build a giant vagina to do it either.
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We already have one. We know him as the Prime Minister.

Also, FIFA have allowed Qatar to break one of the key rules that applied to every other candidate by allowing all 8 World Cup stadia to be located within a 12 mile radius of Doha, meaning that the entire tournament will be played in a region smaller than London.
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There's not a hell of a lot outside Doha to begin with. Qatar is a very small country, so it was always going to need some kind of special provisions.
 
prisonermonkeys
There's not a hell of a lot outside Doha to begin with. Qatar is a very small country, so it was always going to need some kind of special provisions.
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Or FIFA could have used some brainpower and given it to a more deserving and better suited candidate in the first place.

I don't know how many bribes it would take for that to happen though.
 
You can't really award it based on who is "more deserving", especially when you look at it from a moral perspective. Yes, Qatar has issues, but look at Australia: we have some very questionable immigration policies, with the government hiding behind national security to avoid answering any questions, and slashing funding to interest groups, advocates and media outlets who dare to criticise them. And since a World Cup won't happen without government support, by coming to Australia, FIFA would be endorsing those policies. How can you say "labour issues in Qatar are unacceptable, but immigration issues in Australia are fine"?
 
Even Brazil(aside from the football culture) is nowhere near ready for this year's World Cup. :lol:

FIFA are a bunch of fools.
 
prisonermonkeys
You can't really award it based on who is "more deserving", especially when you look at it from a moral perspective. Yes, Qatar has issues, but look at Australia: we have some very questionable immigration policies, with the government hiding behind national security to avoid answering any questions, and slashing funding to interest groups, advocates and media outlets who dare to criticise them. And since a World Cup won't happen without government support, by coming to Australia, FIFA would be endorsing those policies. How can you say "labour issues in Qatar are unacceptable, but immigration issues in Australia are fine"?
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Every country has its issues, but some are definitely better (or in this case, worse) then others.

I much rather see the World Cup take place in a country with immigration issues then one where hundreds of workers die monthly working on the stadiums in slave-like conditions.
 
Not sure how you could reasonably expect FIFA to anticipate a host nation being completely unprepared in five years' time when the bid is first cast. Especially when said bid is being run alongside an Olympic Games bid, and so the infrastructure will naturally cross over.

The problem is not endemic to the FIFA World Cup. Just about every host nation for any international sporting event has run very close to its deadline - Sochi, Beijing, and even Sydney had problems with their Olympic venues, while Delhi struggled to get ready for the Commonwealth Games.
 
mister dog
They should be stripped of it just because of their world cup slaves alone IMO...:

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/may/14/qatar-reform-labout-laws-outcry-world-cup-slaves
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This is sadly a common theme that occurs in Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, and others. Basically lure immigrants for promise of work and pay, only to overwork them like slaves with little pay all the while withholding their visas and passports so they can't leave. What's sadder is the two countries that most of these migrants come from, Pakistan and India, could care less.

But Saudi, of all the mideast countries, is actually trying to crack down on it. Which bamboozles me because UAE is by far the most "modern" in governance and in civil rights of the oil nations.
 

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