Spain/Portugal deny World Cup collusion
Reuters - Thursday 28 October 2010, 08:53
MADRID - The joint Spanish and Portuguese
bid to host the 2018 World Cup have denied allegations they
agreed a pact with Qatar, who are bidding for the 2022 edition,
to manipulate the voting process.
Football's world governing body FIFA are investigating claims
of collusion and vote-swapping for the 2018 and 2022
tournaments, which is banned and can lead to disqualification.
Last week, FIFA provisionally suspended two members of their
executive committee, which begins a two-day meeting on Thursday
to address the bidding process, over allegations they offered to
sell their votes to undercover newspaper reporters from a
British newspaper.
"The Iberian bid already told FIFA last Wednesday that it
does not have any agreement with any other bidding nation,"
Miguel Angel Lopez, chief executive of the Spanish/Portuguese
candidacy, said in a statement on Thursday.
They had offered FIFA full cooperation in the investigation,
he added.
FIFA's executive committee is due to announce the hosts for
the 2018 and 2022 World Cups in Zurich on December 2.
Russia, England, Spain/Portugal and Belgium/Netherlands are
bidding for 2018 and Japan, South Korea, Australia, United
States and Qatar want 2022.