Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
THE FA’S BIG BID MISTAKE
Governing body named & shamed in bombshell report
THE FA were last night accused of “undermining the integrity” of the World Cup bidding process. The damning verdict on England’s failed 2018 bid came in FIFA independent investigator Michael Garcia’s bombshell report which was published yesterday. It reveals a string of embarrassing details surrounding the 2018 and 2022 World Cup bids ahead of the vote in December 2010. But while the report makes strong allegations surrounding Russia and Qatar, there are remarkable details about the FA and their bidding process in the exhaustive 423-page document. FIFA had previously blocked its publication in 2014 but football’s governing body decided to reveal all yesterday for “complete transparency” after German newspaper Bild claimed to have a copy and plans to publish it. The current FIFA hierarchy accept that the report is highly embarrassing but ultimately it confirms what many people know already or at least suspected. It will not change where the next two World Cups are hosted, even though it will heap more shame on the bidding process. However, it is almost worse for the FA because it shows they were far from being clean themselves, despite their own mud slinging after the process. The FA were last night wading through the report and did not want to comment before digesting its full content. But it is clear the whole episode is a highly embarrassing one for those at the head of the English game. It reveals the lengths they went to to influence nowdisgraced former CONCACAF boss Jack Warner to win his vote with promises of a job for his “adopted son”, inducements, and glamorous trips for “his football team” Joe Public with free luxury accommodation. Garcia’s report says: “It appears England 2018 calculated its response to Mr Warner’s demand related to his football club in a manner that reinforced the appearance the benefit was tied to the voting process. “Accordingly, both Mr. Warner’s demand and England 2018’s response undermined the integrity of the bidding process.” The inducements broke strict FIFA voting rules and now undermine everything the FA threw at disgraced former president Sepp Blatter before he was ousted two years ago. But the report also delivers damning evidence against former FA chairman Geoff Thompson, who is accused of trading votes with Korea – also strictly against the rules. Garcia does at least give Thompson some credit for owning up. Garcia says there was a “violation of the anti-collusion rules. However, Mr Thompson’s willingness to admit to such behaviour substantially mitigates his misconduct. “But for his forthrightness, the Investigatory Chamber almost certainly would not have known of this agreement.” Warner asked the FA to write off a £150,000 debt owed by the Jamaica Football Federation to a private English firm. He also asked for Lord Triesman’s help and his “kindness and understanding”, but it is unknown if the FA paid it off.