Sepp Blatter : “Political intervention” granted the right to host the 2022 World Cup to Qatar

Former FIFA president Sepp Blatter affirmed that that there was “political intervention” in the decision to grant the right to host the 2022 World Cup to Qatar.

Blatter, who had occupied the position of FIFA President for 17 years until 2015, explained that there was agreement in the FIFA Executive Committee to assign the 2018 World Cup to Russia and the 2022 World Cup to the United States of America.

“Then there was political intervention to grant the right to host the 2022 World Cup to Qatar, that’s all,” Blatter added.

He made it clear  that the failure to assign the agreement to host the World Cup 2022 in the United States is caused by the interference of the French government in the era of the former President Nicolas Sarkozy. “That happened during a lunch with Michel Platini, who was then a member of the FIFA Executive Committee, and admitted voting for Qatar.

Yesterday, the US federal prosecutor accused former officials of the International Federation, especially from South America, of receiving bribes in order to vote for Qatar to host the World Cup 2022.

In this context, it was reported that three senior FIFA officials were bribed to vote for Qatar to host the 2022 World Cup in the latest blow to the credibility of the tournament.

Three South American members of FIFA’s executive committee in 2010 were paid to back Qatar, which defeated the United States to land the most prestigious and lucrative single-event sporting event in the world, according to documents published on Monday.

The 70-page indictment claimed the men bribed were senior administrators in Brazil, Argentina and the head of the South American federation.

Qatar was eventually awarded the tournament in 2010 after four rounds of voting when Qatar beat the US by 14 votes to eight.

“Several executive committee members were offered or received bribes in connection with their votes,” according to the indictment against 17 defendants unsealed for the first time. The South American trio were “offered and received bribe payments in exchange for their votes in favour of Qatar to host the 2022 World Cup”.

Basma Qaddour