Thompson breaks silence over England World Cup humiliation

By Andrew Warshaw

December 8 – England’s beleaguered 2018 World Cup bid chairman Geoff Thompson (pictured) has broken his silence on his country’s two-vote humiliation by adding his voice to those who believe FIFA should have given clearer guidelines to bidding nations.

The almost obsessively private Thompson, who is well-respected among FIFA members but rarely speaks on the record to the media, told Sky News it was time to move on.

But he conceded that English newspaper and television reports over alleged corruption within FIFA helped negate England’s technically excellent campaign and gain victory for Russia.

“We are moving into new territories,” said Thompson who, since the result, has left all reaction to other England 2018 members.

“If that was in their mind, they should have said that in the bidding documents – I think clarification was needed.”

Thompson, former FA chairman who stands down as FIFA’s nominated British Executive Committee member next May, is convinced the 22 FIFA members were not against English football’s set-up per se, but against the media.

“I don’t think it was anti-FA,” he said.

“The newspapers and Panorama did not help.”

Thompson’s next appearance will be at the UEFA Executive Committee meeting in Prague on tomorrow and Friday.

With the second of England’s pitiful two votes in Zurich – apart from his own – having come from outside Europe, Thompson will want to know why so many of his UEFA colleagues backed other European bids.

Senes Erzik of Turkey apparently approached Thompson after the result to explain that it was “just business” and nothing personal when he voted against England.

Undercover reporting is not as prevalent in other countries as in the UK and although he won’t say so in public, Thompson was increasingly worried that opponents of England’s bid would use its news-hungry media to discredit the campaign – even though he personally feels his colleagues have simply shot the messenger and that it is a lame excuse.

While he believes there was some logic in 2018 going to Russia, it is understood he was especially disappointed at the blatant tactical voting and that England’s global development programme did not result in more support.

Another reason emerging as to why England fared so badly could be, ironically, because of the Premier League’s success.

Thompson is understood privately to take the view that many FIFA Executive Committee members were jealous of the Premier League and did not want to hand England another potential cash cow.

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