Qatar's disgraced former football boss, Mohamed bin Hammam. Photo: Reuters
The legitimacy of Qatar's campaign to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup has again been brought into question by fresh corruption allegations that link the successful bid with the country's disgraced former football boss, Mohamed bin Hammam.
Qatar was last week cleared to host the 2022 tournament after the FIFA ethics judge ruled the country's bid committee had minimal contact with bin Hammam, who is serving a life ban for corruption.
But British newspaper The Sunday Times has now published electronic messages that challenge that assertion and paint bin Hammam as a central figure in the Qatari bidding committee.
The fresh revelations come a day after German Football League president Reinhard Rauball said UEFA, the administrative body for soccer in Europe, should consider parting ways with world football's governing body if FIFA did not make public a full report of an investigation into bribery and corruption allegations associated with the 2018 and 2022 World Cup bidding process.
The Qatar World Cup bidding team has consistently denied any involvement with bin Hammam. The claims that the bid was independent of bin Hammam have long been FIFA's defence of Qatar's innocence against waves of corruption allegations.
The fresh evidence in The Sunday Times suggests bin Hammam was actively engaged in illicit activities in the bidding process, that he organised a vote-swapping pact deemed illegal under FIFA rules, and paid for luxurious travel and meetings between FIFA executive committee members and the Qatar bidding team.
The paper's investigation claims to have leaked documents suggesting staff members of bin Hammam discussing how the 2022 World Cup voting process was rigged in favour of Qatar.
The revelations follow the release last week of a 42-page ruling by FIFA ethics judge Hans-Joachim Eckert clearing Qatar of any wrongdoing in the bidding process for the 2022 tournament.
The ruling was met with widespread criticism, most notably from chief FIFA investigator Michael Garcia, who wrote the original report from which Eckert drew his findings.
Garcia publicly claimed Eckert's summary of his 430-page report contained inaccuracies and was a selective portrayal of his findings. He has since appealed to the FIFA appeals committee.
Calls for Garcia's full report to be published are growing, not least from Rauball, who said it was 'the only way FIFA can restore some of its lost credibility'.
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