• World Cup

Qatar accused of paying $1.5m for FIFA votes

ESPNsoccernet staff
May 10, 2011
The bidding process for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups attracted accusations of corruption © Getty Images
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Two FIFA executives have been accused of accepting bribes of $1.5 million to vote for Qatar as hosts of the 2022 World Cup finals.

The Sunday Times submitted the evidence to MPs at the culture, media and sport committee in the House of Commons.

Conservative MP Damian Collins said that FIFA vice-president Issa Hayatou from Cameroon and Jacques Anouma from the Ivory Coast were paid by Qatar.

Two other executive committee members, Amos Adamu and Reynald Temarii, have already been banned following the Sunday Times revelations.

Collins said: "The Sunday Times' submission, and this is to be published by us later, claims that $1.5million was paid to FIFA executive committee members Issa Hayatou and Jacques Anouma who went on to vote for Qatar.''

Collins said the submission claimed Qatar specifically employed a fixer to arrange deals with African members for their votes, however Mike Lee, the London-based public relations consultant who worked on Qatar's bid, said he was unaware of any payments being made.

Lee, formerly communications director of the Premier League, UEFA and London's 2012 Olympic bid, told MPs: ''I was working at the highest level of that bid and talking at length with the chairman and CEO and saw no evidence of any of these allegations. My experience is I would have had a sense if such things were going on and I had no sense of that.''

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
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