• World Cup

Triesman's timing doubted by FIFA chief

ESPNsoccernet staff
May 11, 2011
Jerome Valcke has defended FIFA © Getty Images
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FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke has gone on the defensive after Lord Triesman's allegations of corruption, questioning why the England 2018 bid chairman did not bring his claims to the table before.

Triesman told a Parliamentary committee on Monday that there had been "improper and unethical'' behaviour by four FIFA executive committee (ExCo) members including asking for money and a knighthood when he was lobbying for England to win bidding rights for the 2018 World Cup.

But when the allegations were put to him, Valcke responded: "It could have been said before. If it was known, why did it not come to our attention? Why were we not informed?''

Two more FIFA members, Issa Hayatou from Cameroon and Jacques Anouma from the Ivory Coast, were on Monday alleged to have been paid $1.5million to vote for Qatar for the 2022 World Cup, according to claims highlighted by MPs at the culture, media and sport committee in the House of Commons.

With two other FIFA members, Amos Adamu from Nigeria and Reynald Temarii from Tahiti, banned by the body's ethics committee last year, it means no fewer than eight FIFA ExCo members - one third of the total of 24 - have either been alleged to have been or already found guilty of impropriety in relation to the 2018 and 2022 World Cup bids.

Adamu was also named in evidence provided by the Sunday Times to the committee as having been bribed by Qatar but his suspension prevented him from voting.

But Valcke denied claims by British MPs that FIFA had failed to reply to an official letter about the Qatar claims.

"There was a letter and we did definitely reply,'' Valcke said. "But there has not been a single time, apart from what we got from a UK newspaper, where we got any evidence anything was wrong during the process.

"I'm not saying anyone is lying but if we had clear information that there was some kind of evidence we would have immediately asked for it.''

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