LONDON: With the dust barely settled on what many neutrals have called the best World Cup ever, which in its lead-up had all sorts of horror stories being dished out around it with lurid headlines doing the rounds, the attention of the “free world’s” media has already turned to Qatar, which is scheduled to host world sport’s biggest tournament in 2022.
The Qatar 2022 World Cup bid team has been accused of running “secret campaigns” in 2010 to sabotage the bids from rival nations, primarily the United States and Australia, a report from the Sunday Times has claimed.
The British newspaper, in a report, said it had accessed certain documents, leaked by a whistleblower who worked on the 2022 bid team, which “reveal” that the Qatari bid team employed a US PR firm and former CIA agents to spread false impressions against the rival nations. The report says the New York office of communications company Brown Lloyd James, now known as BLJ Worldwide, was hired for the purpose along with a team of former intelligence officers for the campaign.
As per the report, the aim of the “smear campaign” was to create an impression that hosting a World Cup tournament is not being supported domestically, which is one of the key criteria laid down by FIFA in the bidding process. The report asserts that such a campaign is against FIFA’s bidding rules that state that World Cup bidders should not make “any written or oral statements of any kind, whether adverse or otherwise, about the bids or candidatures of any other member association”.
The Qatar bid team have denied the allegations. A statement released by Qatar’s Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy, cited by The Sunday Times, said it “rejects each and every allegation put forward by the Sunday Times”. The statement added: “We have been thoroughly investigated and have been forthcoming with all information related to our bid, including the official investigation led by US attorney Michael Garcia. We have strictly adhered to all FIFA’s rules and regulations for the 2018/2022 World Cup bidding process.”
The Qatar bid team were earlier accused of corruption but were later cleared of any wrongdoing after a two-year FIFA inquiry.
David Triesman, former chairman of the English Football Association and the man who lead England’s failed bid to host the 2018 World was quick off the blocks to demand: “FIFA’s obligation is to look at the evidence thoroughly and very rapidly and have the courage to take what may be a difficult decision. If Qatar is shown to have broken the FIFA rules, then they can’t hold on to the World Cup.”
No surprises that he further added: “I think it would not be wrong for FIFA to reconsider England in those circumstances … We have the capabilities.”
How convenient.
For the record, Qatar beat rival bids from the United States, Australia, South Korea and Japan in December 2010 to earn the right to host the 2022 World Cup.
It is worth highlighting here the kind of media coverage in the UK ahead of the World Cup in Russia.
Example 1. When Russian television channel RT announced Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho as its main pundit for Russia 2018 in March, in a statement given to Press Association Sport, Rhondda MP Chris Bryant said: “To my mind, this is blood money (emphasis ours), paid directly from the Russian state coffers.” Bryant’s message was backed by fellow Welsh Labour MP Stephen Doughty.
The British media also lambasted other high-profile football figures associated with the “controversial channel” such as as former players Stan Collymore and Peter Schmeichel. That several British politicians, including George Galloway and Alex Salmond, were seen on the channel was also a source of angst.
Similar faux outrage was expressed when Robbie Williams was accused of accepting “blood money from a murderous dictator”, after the British popstar decided to headline the World Cup opening ceremony in Moscow.
