By Andrew Warshaw
March 18 – Qatar’s winning 2022 World Cup bid has been plunged into renewed controversy – just when FIFA are about to be given an update about the treatment of migrant workers employed on its stadium projects.
Fresh allegations of a cash deal between disgraced former CONCACAF president Jack Warner and his one-time Asian Football Confederation counterpart Mohamed Bin Hammam were splashed across the front page of today’s Daily Telegraph in England.
An investigation by the paper claims to have uncovered “documents [which] appear to show” that Warner and his family were paid almost $2 million “by a Qatari firm controlled” by Bin Hammam.
One invoice “for work carried out between 2005 and 2010” was allegedly issued just two weeks after the vote that awarded the 2018 finals to Russia and 2022 to the Gulf state.
While the link is being drawn to the bid there is so far no proof, unlike in the cash-for-votes scandal involving Warner and Bin Hammam. These are not necessarily related events until proven so and FIFA’s investigators will be well aware of this.
Six months after the World Cup vote, rather than answer bribery allegations, Warner’s 28-year tenure as one of world football’s most corruption-tainted powerbrokers came to an end when he resigned in the wake of the cash-for-votes scandal – the most damaging incident in FIFA’s recent history involving cash expenses being offered to Caribbean officials who attended a meeting in Trinidad purportedly staged for Bin Hammam’s FIFA presidential campaign.
Bin Hammam quickly withdrew his challenge to FIFA president Sepp Blatter but always denied any collusion with Warner. Nevertheless he eventually went the same way, dropping his long-running fight to clear his name after having being banned for life by FIFA for “repeated violations” of the organisation’s ethics code.
Qatar has long denied unsubstantiated corruption allegations and have always distanced themselves from bin Hammam who was not part of their bid team.
The fact that he is a Qatari native and was for years the most powerful in Asian football seems likely, rightly or wrongly, to provide fuel to those who want Qatar stripped as World Cup hosts. On the other hand, holding the Gulf state responsible for the actions of bin Hammam seems, on the surface, somewhat disingenuous.
The Telegraph report claims that “a company owned by Mohamed Bin Hammam appeared to pay $1.2 million to Mr Warner in 2011.” These monies were to be made “payable to Jack Warner”. His two sons and an employee were allegedly paid a further $1 million by the same Qatari company.
The Telegraph claims that the FBI is investigating the alleged transaction but until and unless members of the Qatar bid team themselves are found to have broken bidding rules, there is little chance of a revote.
Michael Garcia, FIFA’s independent corruption buster, is in the throes of investigating claims of irregularities in the entire 2018/2022 bid process, not just concerning Qatar, and is expected to submit a report later this year. In the meantime, FIFA’s executive committee will this week be given an update by its German member Theo Zwaniziger over progress being made by Qatar to improve workers rights which has become an increasingly hot topic .
Reacting to the Telegraph article, the Qatar 2022 Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy insisted, again, that they had acted cleanly throughout the bid process.
“The 2022 Bid Committee strictly adhered to FIFA’s bidding regulations in compliance with their code of ethics,” it said in a statement.
“The Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy and the individuals involved in the 2022 Bid Committee are unaware of any allegations surrounding business dealings between private individuals.”
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