Written evidence submitted on behalf of
the Qatar 2022 Bid Committee for the FIFA World Cup
Response to the allegations published
in a memorandum provided to the Culture, Media and Sport Select
Committee of the House of Commons
Further to the publication by the Culture, Media
and Sport Select Committee ("the CMS Select Committee")
of the House of Commons of a memorandum ("the Memorandum")
provided to it by two reporters at The Sunday Times newspaper,
the Qatar Football Association on behalf of the Qatar 2022 Bid
Committee for the FIFA World Cup™ ("the Bid Committee")
today published the following statement.
The Memorandum contains a series of serious, unsubstantiated
and false allegations regarding the conduct of the Bid Committee.
We would like to take this opportunity to address these allegations
on behalf of the Bid Committee. However, before we consider the
allegations made, we would like to point out two very significant
omissions from the Memorandum, and two very important additional
considerations, that together throw very considerable doubt on
the credibility of the reporters, their motivations, and the extent
to which the evidence placed by them before the CMS Select Committee
can in any way be relied upon.
Firstly, the Memorandum refers to a series of alleged
conversations between the reporters and a number of individuals
connected with the bidding process for the 2018 and 2022 FIFA
World CupTM Finals. What the Memorandum does not state
is that the reporters were posing as corrupt representatives of
the United States bid and ostensibly soliciting further corruption
from those with whom they were speaking, in return for substantial
payments. It appears that many of these individuals were simply
seeking to impress the supposed US representatives and persuade
them that it would be worth their while engaging them. Evidently,
in such circumstances very little reliability can be attached
to the words of such individuals.
Secondly, more specifically, the Memorandum refers
to allegations that Mr Michel Zen Ruffinen allegedly made against
the Bid Committee in the presence of the reporters (again we understand
posing as corrupt representatives of the United States bid). However,
the Memorandum fails to state that Mr Zen Ruffinen immediately
retracted those allegations both in a letter to the Bid Committee
and a letter to The Sunday Times.
We find these omissions to be astonishing and a matter
of the greatest concern. As a consequence of the omissions, the
Memorandum did not place the information before the CMS Select
Committee in a fair and balanced way.
In addition, the Memorandum refers to an alleged
unidentified "whistleblower" who it is said formerly
worked for the Bid Committee. It is true that (as is not uncommon
in a process such as the bid) one or two people retained by the
Bid Committee have left on acrimonious terms, although through
no fault of the Bid Committee. The only explanation apparent to
us is that one such person, plainly with a significant axe to
grind against the Bid Committee, is the alleged whistleblower
in question. We are mystified as to why anyone formerly in the
Bid Committee's employ would now seem intent on fabricating stories
about the Bid Committee and would seriously question what his
or her motivations are. In any event, we would caution anyone
against placing reliance, on uncorroborated statements made by
an embittered ex-employee without a full and balanced understanding
of that individual's personal and professional circumstances.
Without knowing the identity of the alleged whistleblower, the
details of the allegations made or the circumstances in which
they have been made, it is impossible for the Bid Committee to
respond to these allegations any further at this stage. However,
. we make ourselves fully available to any appropriate inquiry
that seeks to rely on any evidence presented, or statements made,
by the alleged "whistleblower" so that any such inquiry
can be sure to have a full and balanced understanding.
Finally, in respect of the general unreliability
of the allegations made against the Bid Committee in the Memorandum,
we would point out that it has regrettably become customary for
false allegations to abound in World Cup bids, such as the unfounded
accusations allegedly made last year by Lord Triesman which caused
him to resign from the English bidding team. In fact, the Bid
Committee did not make any such false allegations against rival
bids and instead focussed on working tirelessly to succeed in
being selected to host the 2022 FIFA World CupTM.
With regards to the allegations made in the Memorandum,
the Bid Committee would like to point out as follows:
1. As stated above, the allegations are completely
false.
2. The Memorandum does not contain or refer to
any first hand evidence of any bribes being paid or any impropriety
on the part of the Bid Committee. All the allegations are hearsay
and supposition, In addition, the allegations are wholly unsupported
by any documentary material whatsoever.
3. These individuals make serious allegations
against the Bid Committee but fail to give any substantiation
of the allegations. For example, they do not state when the alleged
bribes were to be paid, how the negotiations with the individuals
concerned had been conducted or crucially how they came to know
of the alleged bribes. On any proper view, their evidence is worthless.
4. The Memorandum states that in the view of
the reporters, the individuals "had no reason to fabricate
these allegations". We do not agree for the reasons set out
in this Statement.
The Memorandum states that the reporters provided
the material they have to FIFA. In fact, the Bid Committee reported
the allegations made by The Sunday Times to FIFA itself
and encouraged them to investigate. FIFA did so and their conclusion
was completely to exonerate the Bid Committee.
The Memorandum also purports to explain the reasons
for the decision of The Sunday Times not to publish in
the newspaper some of the serious allegations set out in the Memorandum.
It states that this was on the basis that "none of the three
people who made allegations against Qatar was ever likely to be
willing to appear as a witness".
The reporters will know (as the Bid Committee was
advised by its lawyers) that the newspaper would have a defence
to any libel claim brought in respect of the publication of these
allegations if it could show that it constituted responsible journalism
to do so and that publication was in the public interest. It would
be quite possible to advance such a defence without any of the
three individuals mentioned giving evidence.
However, it must have been plain to the newspaper
and the reporters that so unreliable and unsubstantiated were
the allegations, that it would not have constituted responsible
journalism for these allegations to be published. It is extremely
unfortunate that the reporters provided these allegations to the
CMS Select Committee with the evident intention of having them
published to the world, as they did in the Memorandum.
For The Sunday Times to suggest that "nobody
of sound mind could be persuaded the support for Qatar" was
based purely on merit, because Qatar is a "small desert state
with a minuscule population, no football traditions and hostile
summer temperatures" is not only insulting, but exemplifies
the sustained and unbalanced reporting that the Bid Committee
has been subjected to by that newspaper.
The publication of the Memorandum on the website
of the CMS Select Committee has caused enormous and wholly unjustified
potential damage to the Bid Committee and the individuals on it.
The aim of the Bid Committee has always been to show that the
Middle East is a realistic option for staging the FIFA World CupTM
and it has worked extremely hard to bring the tournament to the
Middle East for the first time. This is something of which the
Bid Committee and the people of Qatar are extremely proud. To
have this achievement tarnished by completely unsubstantiated
and false allegations and for those allegations to be propounded
by the Parliament of the United Kingdom is something we find distressing,
insulting and incomprehensible.
Since participating and succeeding in the bidding
process, the Bid Committee has been subject to a variety of serious
allegations. However, none of these allegations has ever been
substantiated. Indeed, they have all been false. Moreover, they
have always consisted of generalised allegations of wrong-doing.
No specific examples of alleged wrong-doing on the part of the
Bid Committee, such as a specific payment made to a specific individual,
have ever been identified to them. Advancing allegations against
the Bid Committee in such a way is particularly unfair and in
such circumstances, it is very hard for the Bid Committee to refute
such vague allegations other than with a generalised denial.
The Bid Committee welcomes a thorough investigation
into the allegations made against it. However, such an investigation
must surely only be carried out by a properly constituted body
with due authority and independence where our side of the story
can be heard. It is wholly inappropriate for any examination of
the Bid Committee's affairs to be based on unsubstantiated hearsay
and inaccurate journalism.
The Bid Committee devoted considerable resources
to its bid, which was necessary given that it was less well known
internationally than most of its competitors. Moreover, Qatar
wants the 2022 FIFA World Cup™ to be the best and the most
professional in all aspects. At all times, the Bid Committee has
observed rigorous propriety and acted entirely within the rules
prescribed by FIFA for the bidding process. The bid team included
professionals from all over the world who worked with tireless
endeavour and innovation and addressed the modern aspirations
of world football to win for Qatar the right to host the FIFA
World CupTM. The whole team and the whole of Qatar
is very proud of that achievement. What is concerning and unfair
is that there appear to be those who are unable to accept that
a team from a country like Qatar could perform in this way and
are ready -on the basis of no evidence -to assume the worst.
Qatar is excited at the prospect of hosting one of
the world's greatest sporting events and is determined to deliver
a World Cup truly deserving of football fans around the world.
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