Qatar "has dismissed speculation it risks being stripped of the 2022 World Cup following Sepp Blatter’s resignation" as FIFA president and welcomed a Swiss investigation into how it was awarded the football tournament, according to Malcolm Moore of the FINANCIAL TIMES. Qatar FA President Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa bin Ahmed al-Thani said the emirate had already been "cleared of any wrongdoing" by Michael Garcia, a U.S. investigator hired by FIFA to look into the bids. Russian officials "also swiftly dismissed the idea that there could be any threat to the country’s 2018 World Cup hosting rights." Russian Sports Minister and FIFA ExCo member Vitaly Mutko said, "The 2018 World Cup is in principle not a Russian project, it’s a product of FIFA. Russia offered its services and FIFA agreed. There are no threats here, this is FIFA’s main event, and this is not the decision of one man but of the executive committee. There is no threat whatsoever." Some observers caution Russia "might still be dragged into the investigation." Andrei Piontkovsky, a critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin, wrote on Twitter that Putin’s congratulations for Blatter after his re-election had been "the kiss of death." Alexander Sidyakin, a deputy in Russia’s Duma, suggested that "there could be a place" for Blatter in Russia. He said, "A man with such colossal experience will be in demand in the Russian Football Association during the preparations for the 2018 World Cup in Russia." Separately, Qatar "has rejected allegations that thousands of migrant workers have died building its World Cup facilities." In response to the allegations contained in a report in the Washington Post, Qatar’s government communications office said, "This is completely untrue. In fact, after almost 5m work-hours on World Cup construction sites, not a single worker’s life has been lost. Not one" (
FT, 6/3). In L.A., Austin Knoblauch wrote Dmitry Peskov, a spokesperson for Putin, said, "We are assuming that Mr. Blatter will fulfill his obligations until the next congress is held, so the work is continuing and our cooperation with FIFA is continuing. The main thing is that Russia is continuing its preparations for the 2018 World Cup. All the plans are being implemented and the work is being carried out" (
L.A. TIMES, 6/3).
NOT BACKING DOWN: REUTERS' Nick Mulvenney wrote organizers of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar "have indicated they will not relinquish the right to host football's showpiece event easily." No sooner had the Swiss announced his decision than FA Chair Greg Dyke "raised the possibility that the controversial vote that awarded Qatar the tournament could be re-run." Dyke: "I think if the evidence comes out which shows the bidding processes were above board that's fine. If it shows they were corrupt then obviously the bids should be re-done, it's as simple as that." Sheikh Hamad "hit back immediately." In a statement, he said, "Mr Dyke's instinct to immediately focus on stripping Qatar of the World Cup speaks volumes on his views concerning what will be the first FIFA World Cup to take place in the Middle East. We would urge Mr Dyke to let the legal process take its course and concentrate on delivering his promise to build an England team capable of winning the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar" (REUTERS, 6/3). REUTERS' Baczynska & Golubkova wrote after Blatter's re-election, Dyke said that the FA "would support any boycott led by UEFA, the sport's European federation." But Russian Olympic Committee President Alexander Zhukov said, "I think there will be no kind of boycotts. We have heard statements, including from politicians ... but I think the sporting community will never do it and won't allow the world of sport to be split" (REUTERS, 6/3). ARABIAN BUSINESS reported Qatar "has strongly denied reports" that its World Cup officials have been warned to avoid the U.S. for fear of arrest. Website Buzzfeed.com claimed that the leaders of Qatar’s 2022 Supreme Committee were being advised not to set foot on U.S. soil, "because they were in danger of arrest, following the FBI investigation into FIFA corruption." However, a spokesperson for Qatar’s bid committee hit back, saying, "Neither the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy nor anyone associated with it or the Qatar bid have any reason to avoid traveling to the United States or anywhere else in the world" (ARABIAN BUSINESS, 6/3).
NO EASY ROUTE: In London, Barney Ronay opined such "is the bloody mess left by the executive decapitation" at FIFA it is almost impossible right now, "even for those with their eyes fixed on the detail, to see an easy route out of the chaos." Some things, though, "are clear enough." In confusing times "it is often best simply to tune out the most distracting voices." With this in mind, the first thing that needs to happen, for the good of the game, is that Dyke "needs to stop talking." On Wednesday Dyke "could be heard once again repeating with absolute, combative certainty his belief the 2022 World Cup bidding process should be reopened." The more urgent issue is that, at a moment of "transformational chaos" in football’s governing body, Dyke "has no one within his own organisation to tell him to stop talking." Or "at least to stop saying all the wrong things during an impasse that requires not squealed demands for a recount but diplomacy, tact and above all an understanding of how this looks to the rest of the world" (GUARDIAN, 6/3).
CHANGE OF PLANS: REUTERS' Bergin & Collett wrote a World Cup has never been canceled before "and no defined procedure for doing it exists but, in theory, withdrawing the right to host a World Cup from a host nation should be an easy thing to do." The only other occasion on which a men’s World Cup was moved "was when Colombia opted out of hosting the 1986 tournament but in that case, it withdrew citing economic problems." A former senior FIFA official said, "We’re in uncharted waters." But the former official said that "it was possible for a country to lose the right to host the tournament." The former official said any wrongdoing around the bidding for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups -- which Russia and Qatar deny -- could be seen as "unforeseen circumstances" warranting a rethink (REUTERS, 6/3).
