Federal bureaucrats have been contacted by the Australian Federal Police, and members of a proposed senate inquiry committee are "seeking answers" from Australian football chiefs as scrutiny "ramps up into Australia's doomed 2022 World Cup bid," according to McKenzie & Baker of the SYDNEY MORNING HERALD. Senior members of the senate committee set to investigate the nation's anti-foreign bribery regime are "pushing for Football Federation Australia officials to answer questions" about the A$500,000 "stadium redevelopment" payment, which was "allegedly stolen" by "disgraced" former FIFA VP Jack Warner in '10. On Tuesday, during a separate committee hearing, health and sport department officials "revealed they had been contacted by the AFP, which is assessing whether any Australian or foreign laws may have been breached in connection to the alleged Warner theft" (SMH, 6/3).
WAITING TO BID: In Sydney, Martin & Gatt reported Australian Sports Minister Sussan Ley said that Australia "will not bid to host the
World Cup until the sport's governing body can be trusted with taxpayer
funds." Facing calls for the government to "resubmit a bid to host the 2022
World Cup if Qatar is stripped of the right, Ley said the Australian
government would not re-engage with FIFA until it had addressed systemic
corruption" (THE AUSTRALIAN, 6/4).
ENGLAND NOT STEPPING IN: In London, Simon Rice reported FA Chair Greg Dyke said that England will "not step in to host the World Cup if current hosts Qatar are stripped of the tournament." England had been the favorite among bookmakers to "stage the tournament if controversial hosts Qatar were denied it" amid allegations of corruption at FIFA and Blatter's resignation on Tuesday. Speaking to the "Today" program, Dyke explained the reason England "would not be bidding for the 2022 tournament." He said, "I think it would be pretty certain it wouldn't come to Europe -- you wouldn't have two successive World Cups in Europe. So I would say it would be most likely to go to America, who were the runners up" (INDEPENDENT, 6/3).
MARKET IMPACT: Reuters' Olzhas Auyezov wrote Qatar's stock market had a "brief, panicked sell off" after Blatter's resignation, but the selloff eased later in the day and the market finished the day flat after buyers decided "there would be little real impact on Qatar's wealthy economy even if it did lost the World Cup" (REUTERS, 6/3).
PLATINI CANCELS MEETING: GOAL's Nicholas McGee reported UEFA President Michel Platini has canceled a planned UEFA meeting following Blatter's resignation. UEFA had been due to meet in
Berlin, the venue for this weekend's UEFA Champions League final, in the
wake of Blatter's victory in the FIFA presidential election last week. Platini said in a statement, "Due to yesterday's [Tuesday] announcement and the uncertain and
unpredictable nature of the investigations, I have decided that it would
be more appropriate to postpone the meeting that was announced last
week, and which could have taken place in Berlin this weekend" (GOAL, 6/3).
ETHICS CHIEF TO CONTINUE: REUTERS' Katharina Bart reported FIFA Chief Ethics Investigator Cornel Borbely said that he would "keep working" at FIFA to "secure compliance with its ethics code." Borbely: "The
(investigatory) chamber will continue its mandate along with the
adjudicatory chamber of the Ethics Committee of consistently ensuring
compliance with FIFA's Code of Ethics and will make this its highest
priority, regardless of who is president" (REUTERS, 6/2).
LOWY DEFENDS AUSTRALIA: REUTERS' Nick Mulvenney reported FFA Chair Frank Lowy insists his country "ran a clean bid to host the 2022 World Cup while others did not, even if they were sometimes naive and made mistakes." In
an open letter released on Wednesday, Lowy said he had nursed a "bitter
grievance" since Australia's bid won just a single vote in '10, and
the tournament was awarded to Qatar. Lowy: "We ran a clean bid. I know that others did not, and I have shared what I know with the authorities" (REUTERS, 6/3).
