(UTV|COLOMBO) FIFA has been urged to conduct an independent investigation into claims the Qatar 2022 World Cup bid team attempted to sabotage rival bids.
MP Damian Collins, chairman of the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport select committee, said Qatar should face sanctions, if they are shown to have broken rules imposed by football’s world governing body.
An article published by the Sunday Times alleges the Qatar bid team used a PR agency and former CIA operatives to disseminate fake propaganda about its main competitors, the United States and Australia.
The newspaper said it had been passed documents by a whistleblower who worked with the Qatar bid.
“If the Qataris have broken the rules, they should face some sanctions.”
FIFA said an investigation into the circumstances of the bid had already been carried out and no wrongdoing was found.
A FIFA spokesperson said: “Concerning the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bidding process, a thorough investigation was conducted by Michael Garcia and his conclusions are available in the report, which has been published on FIFA.com.
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