Geneva (AFP) - Russia and Qatar could lose the right to host the 2018
and 2022 World Cups if evidence is found of corruption in the bidding
process, a FIFA official was quoted as saying on Sunday.
The comments by the head of FIFA s auditing and compliance committee
came as bribery claims mounted against disgraced former FIFA vice
president Jack Warner, the man at the heart of the scandal engulfing
football s world body.
"If evidence exists that Qatar and Russia received the (World Cup)
awards only thanks to bribes, then the awards could be annulled,"
Domenico Scala told the Swiss newspaper Sonntagszeitung.
He said however that "this evidence has not been provided" so far.
His comments are the first by a senior FIFA official to even open up
the possibility of either Russia or Qatar being stripped of the right to
host the football extravaganza.
Swiss judicial authorities are already probing the awarding of the
2018 and 2022 World Cups to Russia and Qatar as part of a far-reaching
corruption scandal that has also raised questions about the 2010 event
in South Africa.
Around 14 current or former FIFA officials and sports marketing
executives are also accused by US prosecutors of taking part in a
sweeping kickbacks scheme going back 20 years involving a total of $150
million in bribes.
The revelations have thrown the world of football into turmoil and
led to the resignation of long-serving FIFA president Sepp Blatter last
week, just four days after his reelection for a fifth successive term.
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