England FA accused of ''undermining the integrity'' of World Cup bidding process during failed 2018 attempt

Published on: 27 June 2017
England FA accused of ''undermining the integrity'' of World Cup bidding process during failed 2018 attempt
FIFA

The Football Association have been accused of ''undermining the integrity'' of the World Cup bidding process.

The damning verdict on England’s failed 2018 bid came in FIFA’s independent investigator Michael Garcia’s bombshell report which was published on Tuesday.

It reveals a string of embarrassing details surrounding the 2018 and 2022 World Cup bids ahead of the vote in December 2010.

But while the report makes strong allegations surrounding Russia and Qatar, there are remarkable details about the FA and their bidding process in the exhaustive 423 page document.

FIFA had previously blocked its publication in 2014 but football’s governing body decided to reveal all for “complete transparency” after German paper Bild claimed to have a copy they were planning to publish.

The current FIFA hierarchy accept that the report is highly embarrassing but ultimately it confirms what many people know already or at least suspected.

It will not change where the next two World Cups are hosted. even though it will heap more shame on the bidding process.

However, it is almost worse for the FA because it shows they were far from being clean themselves despite their own mud slinging after the process.

The FA were last night wading through the report and did not want to comment before digesting the full content but it is clear that the whole episode is a highly embarrassing episode for those at the head of the English game.

It reveals the lengths they went to influence now disgraced former CONCACAF boss Jack Warner to win his vote with promises for a job for his “adopted son” , inducements, glamorous trips for “his football team” Joe Public with free luxury accommodation.

Garcia’s report says: ''It appears that England 2018 calculated its response to Mr Warner’s demand related to his football club in a manner that reinforced the appearance that the benefit was tied to the voting process.

''Accordingly, both Mr. Warner’s demand and England 2018’s response undermined the integrity of the bidding process.''

The inducements broke strict FIFA voting rules and now undermines everything that FA threw at disgraced former president Sepp Blatter before he was ousted two years ago.

But the report also delivers damning evidence against former FA chairman Geoff Thompson who is accused of trading votes with Korea - also strictly against the rules.

Garcia does at least give Thompson some credit for owning up.

Garcia says there was a ''violation of the anti-collusion rules.

However, Mr. Thompson’s willingness to admit to such behavior substantially mitigates his misconduct.

''But for his forthrightness, the Investigatory Chamber almost certainly would not have known about this agreement.''

 

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