Spain outraged by Triesman accusing them of bribery

By Andrew Warshaw

May 17 – Spain’s 2018 World Cup bid team have expressed utter shock at Lord Triesman’s bribery allegations as English officials continue on a major damage limitation exercise to prevent their £15 million ($22 million) campaign from total collapse.

As former Football Association chairman Geoff Thompson replaced Triesman as bid chairman and bid officials prepared to travel to Zurich for a private trouble-shooting briefing with FIFA president Sepp Blatter, a leading Spanish official insisted the revelations about an alleged plot to bribe referees at next month’s World Cup were completely unfounded.

“Is this some kind of joke?” said Miguel Galan Torres, right-hand man of Spanish FA president Angel Maria Villar Llona, the long-serving FIFA vice-president and head of the joint Spanish-Portuguese bid.

“I can’t actually believe what I am hearing.

“I can’t believe this conversation actually took place.

“It cannot have been serious, it’s too incredible for words.”

Ironically Spain have lost ground in recent months with a low-key campaign and question marks over the decision to co-host with Portugal. Galan, who was at Villa Llona’s side at the bid book handover ceremony in Zurich on Friday (May 14), said Triesman’s allegations of collusion between the Spanish and Russian 2018 bid teams to the detriment of the English bid were too fanciful for words.

“I am astonished by these allegations.

“I have always considered Lord Triesman to be nothing but a gentleman.

“Does he have proof?

“I don’t think so.

“Maybe someone is inventing things and trying to set him up.”

Triesman could not have picked a worse target since Villa Llona also happens to be chairman of FIFA’s Referees’ Committee and a staunch ally of Blatter.

In his reported comments yesterday in the Mail on Sunday, Triesman claimed Spain would consider withdrawing from the running for 2018 and switch its allegiance to Russia as part of the alleged corruption plot.

“I can tell you we have no intention of pulling out of the bid and are not paying anyone for anything,” said Galan.

“We are respectable people.”

English bid insiders privately expressed outrage at the Mail on Sunday’s headline-grabbing report, insisting Triesman, who claims he was the victim of entrapment, was having a private dinner with a former work colleague and that the taped conversation was an underhand sting that could wreck months of careful campaigning.

FIFA rules, however, explicitly forbid bidding nations from commenting on rival candidates, making Triesman’s position untenable.

Only last week, at a ceremony to mark the 1,700-page bid book’s official departure for FIFA headquarters, Triesman was questioned over whether the English bid was too reserved and polite.

“I don’t believe you can ever be too clean,” he replied.

“I have said from the beginning that we wouldn’t try to earn this World Cup by means that we would be ashamed of.

“I would rather people see that we do it the right way and I believe we will succeed in doing things the right way.

“There are people all around the world who want to see it doing the right way.”

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