By Andrew Warshaw in Zurich
December 3 – After the night of the long knives for England’s vanquished 2018 World Cup bid, the post-mortems intensified today when campaign leader Andy Anson renewed his attack on FIFA”s bidding process.
After a runaway Russian victory that surprised even Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, Anson denounced the broken promises he insists were made to England and which left their dreams in tatters,
Anson, whose emotions were still running high, revealed that just before the 22 Executive Committee members cast their votes yesterday, their boss, FIFA President Sepp Blatter reminded them about the “evils of the media.”
“I think that was unhelpful – the last thing those guys hear before they go and tick the box is the evil of the media,” said Anson.
That wasn’t helpful to our cause.”
Whilst he has no doubt Blatter’s untimely intervention played a part, Anson was still staggered at England receiving only two votes when they were promised so many more and when their technical bid was far stronger than Russia’s.
“I still can’t believe it,” he said.
“I’m not going to beat around the bush. Individual members promised us their votes and that’s difficult to stomach, as is looking some of them in the eye.”
Anson knows there will be those within FIFA who will accuse England of sour grapes yet categorically refuses to accept that the anti-England sentiment was caused only by a media backlash.
“We have spoken to some Executive Committee members who said that our media killed us. I don’t believe that for one minute,” he said.
“We had a formidable competitor in Russia who did a lot of late-night lobbying and votes switched to them at the last minute in the early hours of the morning.”
Just as South Africa found to their cost in the 2006 bid process, so politics and potential deals played a full part in yet another charade.
England will not get another chance until 2030 at the earliest and Anson believes there is no longer any point in bidding unless Fifa opens up the voting to all its member countries.
“I would say right now don’t bother until you know that the process is going to change to allow bids like ours [a chance] to win.
“When you have the best technical bid, fantastic inspection visits, the best economic report, and, from what people told us, the best presentation, it’s quite hard to stomach that all that seemed to count for absolutely nothing.
“Having only 22 guys only voting on the world’s biggest sporting event gives them too much power.
“Running two bids together was clearly a huge mistake.
“Everyone who had a vote and a bid clearly wanted to trade that vote for something that helped them get over the line in that campaign.
“That was a huge mistake.
“Australia had a very good bid and they got one vote, we had a very good bid and we got two, the USA had an unbelievably strong technical bid and got three.
“Six votes in the first round between those three, there’s something not quite right.
“You have to open it up to all member associations and have transparency so everyone knows who voted for whom.
“With 22 guys having so much power it becomes very, very difficult.”
Contact the writer of this story at zib.l1736513339labto1736513339ofdlr1736513339owedi1736513339sni@w1736513339ahsra1736513339w.wer1736513339dna1736513339
Related stories
December 2010: Exclusive – How the FIFA Executive Committee members voted
December 2010: The voters lied to us claims angry England 2018 bid chief
December 2010: Rodney Marsh – It was almost as if we were being dismissed, as if we didn’t count for anything
December 2010: Vote momentum swinging in England’s favour claims Beckham
November 2010: Mihir Bose – Years of neglect cannot be made up for in a few months of hectic lobbying