FIFA write letter of complaint to British MPs over corruption claims

By David Gold

August 2 – FIFA has published a letter on its website attacking British politicians, with secretary general Jerome Valcke claiming that they should “act and speak on facts and not on unsubstantiated headlines”.

Last month the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee released a report on England’s failed 2018 World Cup bid, in which they criticised FIFA’s response to the accusations of alleged bribery by the Qatari delegation who successfully won the right to host the 2022 World Cup.

Since then a whistleblower, Phaedra Almajid, admitted that she had made allegations to the British weekly The Sunday Times that two Executive Committee members of FIFA had been paid $1.5 million by a middle man, and that she was withdrawing those allegations.

Those claims were only made public under Parliamentary privilege during the Committee’s investigation into the failed World Cup bid, and were never published by the paper in print.

Valcke told John Whittingdale, the chair of the Committee, that they should have updated their report following Almajid’s retraction.

“It is one thing for the media to not be interested in stories which kill previous headlines by so-called investigative journalists, but it is another entirely for your Committee to neglect this turnaround,” he wrote.

Whittingdale responded by telling The Associated Press that they could only publish evidence submitted to them directly.

“We published the evidence we were given – we didn’t say if it was true or untrue, we just said it needs to be properly investigated,” said Whittingdale, who also confirmed that the Committee would be responding to Valcke.

“It seems a reasonably perfect thing to do.

“Had we not done that, I don’t think the whistleblower would ever have made her retraction.

“That’s due to our report that particular allegation has been disproved.”

Valcke insisted though that FIFA was taking other allegations of corruption and bribery seriously.

“This will be done,” Valcke said.

“FIFA will do its homework and address the issues of the past.”

The Committee insisted in its report that nothing had changed at FIFA and did not trust President Sepp Blatter, re-elected unopposed after his only challenger Mohamed Bin Hammam was suspended and subsequently given a life ban for allegedly bribing North American voters, to make the necessary reforms to the organisation.

“FIFA does not turn a blind eye to criticism against it,” Valcke said.

“However, we do believe that it is too easy to judge in public allegations that are not supported by evidence.”

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