World Cup 2022: Qatar speaks out about corruption allegations
By Mike Dyce
As the 2014 World Cup has begun, there has been a lot of talk publicly about Qatar and their World Cup 2022 bid. Namely, the rampant allegations of corruption and bribing FIFA officials to award them the tournament.
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Add in the news about Franz Beckenbauer refusing to cooperate and subsequently getting suspended and reports that FIFA told the United States to get ready to host the 2022 World Cup and there is a lot to talk about. That led Qatar to speak out.
“This week the world should be watching Brazil, yet once again the focus will turn to Qatar as the media continues to attack FIFA’s decision to award our country the World Cup in 2022,” a statement on behalf of Qatar’s Supreme Committee for 2022 said, via Sky Sports.
“This weekend we expect further attacks on Qatar and our successful bid to host the World Cup in 2022. These allegations are baseless and riddled with innuendo designed to tarnish the reputation of Qatar’s 2022 Bid Committee.
“The constant stream of allegations that have been released to media outlets on the cusp of our interviews with the chairman of FIFA’s Ethics Committee Investigative Chamber do not implicate our bid. They are instead a series of tenuous links that attempt to assume guilt by association.
“The timing of the release of these allegations is no accident, falling in the same week as our interviews with Michael Garcia and a week before meetings of the FIFA Executive Committee and the 2014 FIFA Congress in Brazil. This has become a pattern prior to important dates in the FIFA calendar.
“It should be clear that these leaks are not an attempt to shine light on the 2018/2022 bidding process. They are, instead, a flagrant attempt to prejudice an ongoing independent investigation.
“While Qatar’s bid committee has honoured Mr Garcia’s request to let the process run its course, our right to a fair hearing has been compromised by certain parties trying to influence Mr Garcia’s investigation.”