5th June, 2014
FIFA investigator Michael Garcia has met Qatari officials as part of his probe into alleged graft in the voting process which gave the Gulf state the right to host the 2022 World Cup.
Garcia met on Wednesday a Qatari delegation in a hotel in Muscat, a source close to the talks told AFP, adding that the FIFA corruption buster continues talks Thursday.
The Qatari delegation of the World Cup organising committee consists of “four members, including a high-level official,” the source said.
A 2010 vote saw Russia gain the right to stage the 2018 event and Qatar the next competition in 2022.
But the awarding of both tournaments sparked allegations of violating FIFA’s code of ethics.
British newspaper The Sunday Times has alleged that former top Qatari official Mohammed bin Hammam paid more than $5 million to win support for Qatar’s bid.
It said last week it had obtained millions of emails, documents and bank transfers relating to alleged payments by Mohamed bin Hammam, then a member of the executive committee of FIFA, the sport’s world governing body.
British media reports in March said some FIFA executive board members were unwilling to be questioned by Garcia, elected head of FIFA’s ethics committee in July 2012.