Whistleblower details corruption at FIFA

Published on Tuesday 10 May 2011 18:01

Pressure is growing for FIFA to launch a full investigation into fresh allegations that six executive committee members asked for bribes or favours - including a knighthood - in return for World Cup votes.

FIFA's already-tarnished reputation has received another battering after the claims made by former FA and England 2018 bid chairman Lord Triesman against four FIFA top brass.

Two more FIFA members, Issa Hayatou from Cameroon and Jacques Anouma from the Ivory Coast, were alleged to have been paid $1.5 million (900,000) to vote for Qatar for the 2022 World Cup, according to claims highlighted by MPs at the culture, media and sport committee in the House of Commons.

In an astonishing morning of whistle-blowing at the inquiry, claims of "improper and unethical" behaviour by four other executive committee (ExCo) members were made by Triesman.

Two other FIFA members, Amos Adamu from Nigeria and Reynald Temarii from Tahiti, were banned by the body's ethics committee last year.

The latest developments mean eight FIFA ExCo members - one third of the total of 24 - have either been alleged to have been or already found guilty of impropriety in relation to the 2018 and 2022 World Cup bids.

Tory MP Damian Collins said the claims against Hayatou and Anouma were contained in evidence provided by the Sunday Times - who launched an undercover investigation into World Cup voting last year - and published by the committee.

Mr Collins said: "The Sunday Times' submission, and this is to be published by us later, claims that $1.5m was paid to FIFA executive committee members Issa Hayatou and Jacques Anouma who went on to vote for Qatar."

The submission claims Qatar specifically employed a fixer to arrange deals with African members for their votes.

Triesman gave evidence of "improper and unethical" behaviour by four other executive committee members.

He said FIFA vice-president Jack Warner asked for money - suggested to be 2.5 million - to build an education centre in Trinidad with the cash to be channelled through him, and later 500,000 to buy Haiti World Cup TV rights for the earthquake-hit nation, also to go through Warner.

Paraguay's FIFA member Nicolas Leoz asked for a knighthood while Brazil's FIFA member Ricardo Terra Teixeira asked Triesman to "come and tell me what you have got for me".Thailand's FIFA member Worawi Makudi wanted to be given the TV rights to a friendly between England and the Thai national team, said Triesman.

He added: "These were some of the things that were put to me personally, sometimes in the presence of others, which in my view did not represent proper and ethical behaviour on the part of members of the executive committee."

John Whittingdale, chairman of the committee, said he would now be writing to FIFA president Sepp Blatter to launch an investigation into the evidence "as a matter of urgency".

In relation to the claims about payments made by Qatar 2022, Mike Lee, the London-based public relations consultant who worked on Qatar's bid, said he was unaware of any payments being made.

Lee, formerly communications director of the Premier League, UEFA and London's 2012 Olympic bid, told MPs: "I was working at the highest level of that bid and talking at length with the chairman and CEO and saw no evidence of any of these allegations.

"My experience is I would have had a sense if such things were going on and I had no sense of that."

Blatter, rocked by arguably the biggest scandal of his career less than three weeks before running for re-election, told reporters in Zurich his own conscience was clear.

"I can't answer for members of my committee," he said.

"I can't say if they are all angels or devils but I am not in the category that has to go to any tribunal or ethics committee. My conscience is clear."