UEFA President Michel Platini Explains Why He Voted For Qatar To Host 2022 World Cup

UEFA President Michel Platini has revealed "how a meeting attended by senior Qatari officials convinced him to pledge his support to the Middle East emirate" rather than the U.S. to host the 2022 World Cup, according to Mark Cue of the LONDON TIMES. The Frenchman acknowledged that he "might have told" American officials that he "would vote for their bid only to have a change of heart" after the Nov. '10 meeting with Nicolas Sarkozy at the former France president's official residence in Paris. Platini then voted for Qatar, which was "controversially awarded the tournament the following month." Platini: "Sarkozy never asked me to vote for Qatar, but I knew what would be good." Platini has "vowed to weed out the culture of political deal-making" at FIFA. Platini said, "We have to care about the game, not politics. With me, there won't be politics. With me, it's about football, not politics" (LONDON TIMES, 9/24).