World Cup could be TAKEN AWAY from Qatar after Blatter probe unearths unfair political voting influence



New evidence of malpractice in the bidding process for the 2022 World Cup could see the tournament taken away from Qatar.



Michael Garcia, the American lawyer asked by FIFA president Sepp Blatter to investigate the way the tournament was awarded to the desert state three years ago, is understood to have established multiple cases of political influence being brought to bear on FIFA Executive Committee (ExCo) voters. On their own, these could be enough to see Qatar stripped of the tournament.

Blatter hinted at these findings last week, laying the groundwork for announcing Garcia’s report results in the near future, when he said in an interview with the German newspaper Die Zeit: ‘There was definitely direct political influence. European leaders recommended to voting members to opt for Qatar, because of major economic interests in the country.’

Honest assessment: UEFA President Michel Platini says the awarding of major sporting events can be influenced by money

France’s ExCo member, Michel Platini, has admitted that he was encouraged by former French president Nicolas Sarkozy to vote for Qatar, although he has always maintained that he did so not as a result of political pressure.

But it is now understood that several other major European political leaders similarly asked their ExCo members to vote for Qatar, and at one ExCo member outside Europe, perhaps more, came under such pressure.

It is routine for politicians to lobby on behalf of their bidding football associations in such races, but one source says the Qatari state influence in the 2022 process was ‘unprecedented’. FIFA forbids governments from trying to influence football policy decisions, with the ultimate punishment being expulsion from FIFA.

What remains unclear is whether Blatter and FIFA will use evidence of politicians influencing ExCo voters to take the World Cup from Qatar or use it as ‘leverage’ to engineer a re-vote on the process that Qatar would almost inevitably lose.

Problems to deal with: FIFA President Sepp Blatter has to deal with the issue of the 2022 World Cup

‘Any assumption that Qatar is definitely keeping the World Cup and there will be a simple switch to winter to accommodate that is flawed,’ said one source.

As The Mail on Sunday revealed last week, Qatar is facing a four-pronged attack on their right to stage the 2022 event: from Europe’s major leagues, broadcasters, losing 2022 bidders and Garcia’s findings. It is now generally accepted Qatar cannot stage a summer World Cup in June and July because of the heat, and the umbrella body of Europe’s major leagues — the European Professional Football Leagues (EPFL) — which includes the Premier League, are against a switch to winter.

It can also be revealed that a 35-page EPFL impact assessment study has already been compiled. It is neutral in tone but detailed about the significant disruption to global football of a winter World Cup.

Of the options available, the report suggests a summer World Cup in Qatar with games played at night is the best choice. But with that effectively ruled out, only winter options - each with ‘major disruptions to three football seasons’ - remain.

Investigation: Blatter asked for findings as to how the tournament was awarded

One former FIFA official, Chile’s Harold Mayne-Nicholls, who was in charge of the FIFA inspection team of 2022 bidders and billed Qatar’s bid as ‘high risk’, suggested in a Twitter posting yesterday that a World Cup from January 6 to February 6 might be the least disruptive winter option but admits his scenario ‘does not take commercial contracts into consideration’.



The EPFL dossier details the problems such contracts pose, not least TV deals worth $1 billion (£630m) combined for US networks Fox and NBC (via subsidiary Telemundo) to show summer World Cups in 2018 and 2022.



The EPFL document also highlights how a winter World Cup would create most havoc in the leagues that provide the most players for a World Cup - the Premier League, Italy’s Serie A, Spain’s La Liga, France’s Ligue 1 and Germany’s Bundesliga.



Havoc: The schedule will cause huge problems to leagues across Europe, including the Premier League

It shows clashes with the Winter Olympics, major US sports and even other major football events, such as the Confederations Cup and African Cup of Nations.

FIFA have an ExCo vote planned for a meeting on October 3-4 to make a decision in principle to move the World Cup of 2022 from summer to winter.



Two ExCo voters, Sunil Gulati of the United States and Prince Ali of Jordan, have said there should be no vote until after a FIFA impact assessment and sources say they are not alone among ExCo’s 27 members in that view.



One football administrator with knowledge of FIFA’s workings told The Mail on Sunday: ‘It’s a chaotic situation. The October vote might go ahead to establish that a summer World Cup in Qatar is impossible, then an impact assessment could show winter is impractical. Or the October vote might be postponed. It’s all in flux.’



No: Fox's James Murdoch has told FIFA his network are against a winter switch

Significant developments since last week include confirmation that James Murdoch of Fox has personally told FIFA that his network is against a winter switch, and one of Qatar’s rival bidders, Australia, has demanded compensation if the 2022 World Cup is switched to winter for Qatar.

All bidders for the tournament — Qatar, the US, Australia, Korea and Japan — pitched for a June-July 2022 finals and a June 2021 Confederations Cup test event. FIFA claimed subsequently that the fine print gave them the right to switch to whenever they please.

