Losing 2022 men’s Cup a concern in Qatar,
Blatter’s exit isn’t necessarily a bad thing for Qatar ... There’s really no solid evidence the 79-year-old was ever Qatar’s biggest fan.
DOHA, QATAR Al Bidda Tower, home to the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy, is designed like a tornado, and inside the building a storm is brewing.
Sepp Blatter’s shocking resignation last week as president of FIFA, international soccer’s scandal-engulfed governing body, has caused a hullabaloo of its own in Qatar’s capital, 3,648 miles from Zurich.
The headquarters of the 2022 World Cup, overseen by Harvard-educated Sheik Mohammed bin Hamad Al Thani and Hassan Al Thwadi, his Sancho Panza, has hardly been known as a beacon of enlightenment. Since Qatar won soccer’s most famous tournament in December 2010, the pair has rarely offered a straight answer. Until last year, they refused to be drawn into the summer vs. winter debate or to discuss whether alcohol would be served at the games.
Things have changed now, with the eruption of the FIFA corruption scandal and fears that Qatar might lose the prestigious event. The two have embarked on a charm offensive. Interview requests are suddenly being granted — rather than being redirected to the shredder — and a steady stream of refreshingly candid statements can be seen on social media.
This is surely proof the Supreme Committee accepts that losing the World Cup is a genuine possibility. So far it’s more skittish unease than alarm, but it could turn into full-blown panic if more whistle-blowers follow Chuck Blazer’s lead.
It’s easy for the so-called “Deliver Amazing ” team to distance themselves from Blazer, who has already conceded that he pocketed bribes to vote for the World Cups in France (1998) and South Africa (2010). After all, the American had nothing to do with their bid.
Phaedra Al Majid, on the other hand, must be taken more seriously. Despite what she maintains was a coerced U-turn in 2011, the former Qatar 2022 press officer is once again alleging her ex-employer bought the votes of three FIFA officials. She has even agreed to be a prosecu- tion witness for the Swiss authorities — potentially the smoking gun they need.
Al Majid is just one reason why the FIFA scandal won’t just disappear quietly and that’s probably why the Qatari government has decided to be proactive. There’s finally an acceptance that nonchalantly ignoring the controversy will only make things worse.
Foreign Minister Khaled bin Mohammed Al Attiyah maintains there is “no way Qatar will be stripped” of the World Cup. “I believe it is because of prejudice and racism that we have this bashing campaign against Qatar,” he told reporters in Paris.
Personally, I don’t see how Al Attiyah can be so sure — not before the Swiss case is complete.
The Supreme Committee asserts that a $10 million internal inquiry by then-FIFA ethics investigator Michael Garcia clears Qatar of any wrongdoing, but I find it difficult to view the report as credible given that Garcia resigned in disgust over the way FIFA handled it. The full text still hasn’t been widely distributed; that will happen only after a plethora of redactions. By the time we see Garcia’s work, it may well look like an excitable toddler went to town on it with a black crayon.
I can, however, empathize with one of the government’s other main gripes — that Europe (and to a lesser extent North America) relishes “Qatar bashing.” As a result, there’s a danger the 2022 World Cup will be made an example of, even though there’s evidence of both persistent and consistent corruption dating all the way back to the 1990s. Blatter himself alleged vote buying for Germany 2006, and U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch argues a $10 million bribe was proffered to former FIFA vice president Jack Warner in return for helping South Africa secure the 2010 tournament.
But FIFA doesn’t have a time machine, so it can’t significantly punish past World Cup hosts. This inevitably leaves Qatar and Russia, which is to host the cup in 2018, susceptible to scapegoating. The latter, though, is probably too close to cancel, leaving Qatar alone in the crosshairs.
Blatter’s exit isn’t necessarily a bad thing for Qatar, despite causing stocks to fall 2.6% in its immediate aftermath. There’s really no solid evidence the 79year-old was ever Qatar’s biggest fan. He was naturally glad to add a first World Cup in the Middle East to his portfolio, but the dirty little rumor doing the rounds is he actually voted for America. His departure has opened Pandora’s box, but I still can’t see the “Ministry of Truth” crumbling any time soon.