Spain/Portugal and Qatar bids face Expulsion.
http://www.qatarliving.com/node/1398285
FIFA Suspends Two Executive Committee Members as World Cup Bid Sale Probed.
Soccer’s governing body suspended two executive committee members as part of an investigation into the possible sale of votes for the bidding for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.
Amos Adamu of Nigeria and Reynald Temarii of Tahiti were given a provisional suspension, FIFA’s ethics committee chairman Claudio Sulser said today at a press conference. The Sunday Times of London on Oct. 17 alleged Adamu and Temarii told undercover reporters their votes could be exchanged for cash. Sulser also said his panel is looking at possible collusion between a bid from Qatar and one from Spain and Portugal.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-10-20/fifa-suspends-two-voters-as-wor...
.. this from one of the more reputable Daily's in the UK - it is being covered to a lesser or greater degree across other news outlets CNN, Bloomberg etc as well;-
"The Daily Telegraph revealed in September that rumours of collusion between Spain-Portugal and Qatar were widespread in football.
The central charge is that the two bids agreed to trade blocs of votes under their influence, with Qatar's supporters on the executive committee alleged to have agreed to back Spain-Portugal in the 2018 vote in exchange for support from the Iberian's voters in the 2022 race.
"We got the information [about collusion] a few weeks ago, and there have been rumours saying that it definitely took place," said Valcke. "We said that we should ask the ethics committee to look at the case." "
oh, they realised it when it was time for the votes to take place a few months away??
US pulled out of one bid to concentrate on improving THEIR OWN chances. This is totally different and too early to comment on.
There is a world of difference between pulling out of one bid to concentrate on the other - which incidentally has been done by ALL the nations who put in a joint 18/22 bid and 2 individual countries being accused of trading blocks of votes for each others unique bid which is what Spain/Portugal and Qatar are being investigated for!!!!
Nothing proved yet...lets wait for the result of the probe.
just politics. thats all. nothing much is gonna happen. Even the way US pulled out from 2018 bid to concentrate on 2022 bid was also to help someone....
To early to comment but these bids HAVE been under investigation since September - even if they are unfounded, there is probably too much suspicion around them both now for them to be taken seriously - the bigger issue for Qatar is the attitude governing bodies in all sports will have toward any future bid by this country regardless of sport. Shame really.