Qatargate

The weekly paper France Football has published in their first page a "Qatargate" involving corruption about the International Football Federation's (FIFA) role in arranging the 2022 World Cup in the tiny Gulf state.

In white letters over black background, the weekly notes that the designation "has such an odor of scandal that it forces one to ask the only possible question: should the voting be annulled?"

The scandal. To support their claims, France Football cites an internal e-mail in which FIFA secretary Jerome Valcke states "they have bought the 2022 World Cup". Valcke later dismissed this as a misunderstanding and assured that it was stated in a joking manner.

The weekly also cites the Swiss Guido Tognoni, excluded from FIFA in 2003, who claims that "there are strong suspicions of an arrangement" in relation to the FIFA members that voted the 2nd of December of 2010 for Qatar, whose campaign budget was 33.75 million euros.

In a box the newspaper places the "10 most influential people for the 2022 WC", within which it includes the president of the Asian Federation, Mohammad Bin Hamman, suspended for life as of the previous December, Argentine FA president and FIFA vice president Julio Grondona, the ex-president of the Brasilian FA Ricardo Texeira who resigned from a FIFA committee and the CBF amongst his own corruption scandal, and the president of FC Barcelona, Sandro Rosell.

The weekly speaks about a "secret meeting" in the Elysee Palace the 23rd of November 2010, barely a week before the FIFA vote, between the French president Nicolas Sarkozy, the Qatari prince Tamin bin Hamad al-Thani, UEFA president Michel Platini, and Sebastien Bazin, representative of Colony Capital, previous owner of Paris SG, that was at the time in great financial distress.

"Throughout this meeting", the weekly writes, was the purchase of Paris SG by the Qataris, the creation of a sports network (the future BeIn Sport) to compete with Canal +, which Sarkozy wanted to weaken, all in exchange of a promise: that Platini (UEFA president) didn't vote for the USA as he planned but for Qatar instead.

France Football concludes its investigation, which it explains throughout 16 pages, with an question about the dates the 2022 World Cup will be played, which will be hard to organize in the summer due to the heat. Platini wants the World Cup to be played in autumn.

According to the newspaper, "the Americans would be the mega-favorites to host the 2022 in the event of an annulment".

Asked about the publication the 2022 World Cup organizers declared: "we have obtained the organization of the 2022 World Cup respecting the principles of the highest standards of ethics and moral, as it was defined within the rules".

Well duh.
Who actually believes Qatar won due to legitimacy.

But anyway it's already settled so no point in people trying to figure out the corruption.

#Justice4bhends

Time for the mainstream media to earn their paychecks and get to investigating

I await the outcome

Awful country, led by their cheat of a football man, Ben-Hamam who is still suspended.

can't wait until they have the host-ness revoked from them soon

#Justice4Murica

Harry Redknapp wrote:Awful country, led by their cheat of a football man, Ben-Hamam who is still suspended.

can't wait until they have the host-ness revoked from them soon

Awful country? Based on what? You have no grounds to judge a country andjust because there is hints about corruption doesnt mean the whole freaking country sucks ffs.....

El Shaarawy wrote:

Harry Redknapp wrote:Awful country, led by their cheat of a football man, Ben-Hamam who is still suspended.

can't wait until they have the host-ness revoked from them soon

Awful country? Based on what? You have no grounds to judge a country andjust because there is hints about corruption doesnt mean the whole freaking country sucks ffs.....

And i don't believe that Bin Hamman is the only one guilty ,

Good I hope they bring it to the states! Who wants to go to Qatar in the summer and die from heat strokes? The US is more suited to host an event like this!

white_star wrote:Good I hope they bring it to the states! Who wants to go to Qatar in the summer and die from heat strokes? The US is more suited to host an event like this!

not like the usa is a comfortable place to be in the summer

white_star wrote:Good I hope they bring it to the states! Who wants to go to Qatar in the summer and die from heat strokes? The US is more suited to host an event like this!

The heat in Qatar is exaggerated sky high
It gets hot but its bearable

speaking of weather,I cant wait to see the deception of tourists coming to the 2014 WC and facing cold,even negative temperatures

Ganso wrote:

white_star wrote:Good I hope they bring it to the states! Who wants to go to Qatar in the summer and die from heat strokes? The US is more suited to host an event like this!

not like the usa is a comfortable place to be in the summer

Have you been to the states or the middle east? I have been to both so I can say I have a right to compare the two. I dont look at Qatar being a destination appealing to me. In fact I am not a big fan of the middle east. Served 2 tours there so I can tell you it's fraking hot and dangerous not to mention dusty. This is my opinion based on experience.

#Justice4straya

Swanhends wrote:#Justice4bhends

Time for the mainstream media to earn their paychecks and get to investigating

I await the outcome

Well it won't be CNN. They canned their entire investigative journalism department a while back.

Meh.. Money makes the world go around.. What else is new?

RedOranje wrote:

Swanhends wrote:#Justice4bhends

Time for the mainstream media to earn their paychecks and get to investigating

I await the outcome

Well it won't be CNN. They canned their entire investigative journalism department a while back.

there isnt any legit journalism done on tv 'news' anymore. at least here in the states that is....




besides, when they tried to tell us that it would be feasible with air conditioned stadiums , I knew qatar 2022 was a joke

There hasn't been any follow up to this story so far if I'm not mistaken. Either way I doubt Qatar don't get the World Cup, so people still butt hurt about it need to get over it. By hook or by crook a World Cup in the Gulf WILL happen and it's not like Qatar won't be great hosts because they absolutely will.

FalcaoPunch wrote:Well duh.
Who actually believes Qatar won due to legitimacy.

But anyway it's already settled so no point in people trying to figure out the corruption.

This. There were already rumours of bribery and payolas on FIFA's WC bidding process back when Germany won their bid, and even before that. It's not a terribly well-kept secret that money and various lavish gifts are the common currency of all successful WC bids, the main difference being that this time Qatar won instead of a "traditional" western WC regular. But there's nothing anyone can do about it, and one of these days the WC will go to China too because that's the way it goes. In the end, FIFA lays down the law and the delegates that accept those bribes aren't going anywhere. Still, it's great fuel for impotent indignation, isn't it? We can wave our outraged fists in the air and call FIFA names, we can refer angrily to Blatter's habit of providing oral sex to strangers and the secret profession of Havelange's mother... and meanwhile FIFA's officials and delegates can give exactly zero shits about our feelings, because those gentlemen are busy with unrepentant luxury.