Triesman lifts lid on failed England bid
Reuters - Tuesday 10 May 2011, 22:24
LONDON - Former English Football
Association chairman David Triesman has accused FIFA executive
committee members Jack Warner, Ricardo Teixeira, Nicolas Leoz
and Worawi Makudi of asking for favours in return for their
votes for England's 2018 World Cup bid.
Triesman was giving evidence on Tuesday to a British
parliamentary inquiry into the reasons why England failed to
secure the finals which were awarded to Russia last December.
Members of Parliament involved in the inquiry also revealed
the names of two other FIFA Executive Committee members who, it
is alleged, were paid $1.5 million to vote for Qatar's
successful 2022 World Cup bid.
Conservative MP Damian Collins said the committee had
evidence from the Sunday Times newspaper which it would publish
that FIFA vice-president Issa Hayatou of Cameroon and Jacques
Anouma of the Ivory Coast were paid by Qatar.
Two other executive committee members were banned by FIFA's
Ethics Committee last year after a previous Sunday Times
investigation into the World Cup bidding process.
The claims are an embarrassment for the game's governing
body with a total eight of its 24-strong key decision-making
executive committee having now been accused by the British media
or its parliamentary representatives of corruption.
Its 75-year-old president Sepp Blatter will stand for a
further four-year term at its helm on June 1 in Zurich. He was
first elected in 1998. Asian Football Confederation chief
Mohamed Bin Hammam is opposing him.
Triesman spoke at the parliamentary inquiry of the "improper
and unethical behaviour" by the four men he named.
He said the Concacaf's Warner asked for 2.5 million pounds to be "channelled through me" for an education
centre in his home country Trinidad and Trinidad.
HAITI EARTHQUAKE
After the Haiti earthquake struck leaving that country
devastated, Warner then asked Triesman for 500,000 pounds to buy
Haiti World Cup TV rights.
Triesman said Paraguayan Leoz, president of South America's
Conmebol, had requested a knighthood in return for his vote
while Brazil's CBF chief Teixeira told him "Come and tell me
what you have for me."
Thai Makudi wanted control of the television rights for a
proposed Thailand v England friendly.
"We had a number of conversations with Mr Makudi, telephone
conversations," Triesman said.
"These were some of the things that were put to me
personally, sometimes in the presence of others, which in my
view did not represent proper and ethical behaviour on the part
of members of the executive committee," he added.
Leoz declined to comment on Triesman's claims but the CBF
issued a statement in which Teixeira said he was starting legal
proceedings against Triesman.
Teixeira said an English delegation had asked him for his
vote in an April 2010 meeting at CBF headquarters but Triesman
was not present and he told them Brazil had joined in South
American support for the joint Spain/Portugal bid.
"The president of the CBF is already taking the relevant
judicial measures with a case against Mr David Triesman for the
absurd comments which in truth attempt to hide his failure in
leading the English candidacy since it only obtained one vote...
its own," Teixeira's statement said.
'TRIESMAN TRIVIA'
Warner, speaking to Britain's Sky Sports News channel, said:
"I have no intention of dignifying that piece of nonsense of
Triesman who no doubt feels that he can revive his dying
political career by mentioning that piece of foolishness.
"I have never asked Triesman nor any other person,
Englishman or otherwise, for any money for my vote at any time.
"In the English World Cup campaign, before he was
unceremoniously kicked out, I have spoken to Triesman, on his
initiative, only on three occasions, while I have spoken to his
other colleagues on other occasions and not one of his
colleagues will ever corroborate his bit of trivia."
Swiss Blatter responded to Triesman's comments at a news
conference in Zurich.
"I was shocked... but one has to see the evidence," he said.
"There is a new round of information, give us time to
digest that and start the investigation by asking for evidence
on what has been said.
"I repeat, we must have the evidence and we will react
immediately against all those in breach of the ethics code
rules."
Collins clarified the allegations against Hayatou and
Anouma.
"The Sunday Times submission, and this is to be published by
us later, claims that 1.5 million dollars was paid to FIFA
executive committee members Issa Hayatou and Jacques Anouma who
went on to vote for Qatar 2022," he said, adding that the
submission also said that Qatar employed a fixer to arrange
deals with African members for their votes.
Mike Lee, who worked as a consultant on Qatar's bid, tolf
the parliamentary committee: "I personally have never witnessed
any improper behaviour and have no evidence that the allegations
are correct," he said.
The vote to stage the 2018 and 2022 World Cups was mired in
controversy, with England at the heart of it.
PRIVATE CONVERSATION
Triesman was forced to resign from the FA last year after a
newspaper sting taped him during a private conversation claiming
2018 hosting rivals Spain and Russia were conspiring to bribe
referees at last year's World Cup in South Africa.
A FIFA investigation found no substance to those allegations
by Triesman.
FIFA banned Nigerian Amos Adamu and Reynauld Temarii of
Tahiti, president of the Oceania Football Confederation, from
its executive committee in November over a report in the Sunday
Times that they had offered to sell their votes.
When England's bid failed last December, receiving just two
out of 22 votes, it sparked bitter recriminations and Roger
Burden, the acting FA chairman, stated that he could no longer
trust FIFA members and withdrew his candidacy for the job.