[Once again the British are crying foul, however, complaining that FIFA’s ethics prosecutor, Michael Garcia, conveniently completed his investigation in time to avoid weighing new evidence published this week by The Sunday Times of London, including what the paper said were millions of emails and travel and financial records showing that Mohamed bin Hammam, a Qatari billionaire, essentially bought the 2022 bid for Qatar, colluding with Russian officials in their 2018 World Cup bid as well.]
By Rod Norland
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| A London newspaper said Mohamed bin Hammam, a Qatari billionaire, essentially bought the 2022 Cup for his nation. Credit Fabrice Coffrini/ Agence France-Presse — Getty Images |
DOHA,
Qatar — As far as the soccer-mad rulers of this wealthy emirate are
concerned, the British are just being sore losers and bad sports with all their
complaints about corruption, slave labor, an epidemic of worker deaths and,
let’s not forget, the extreme heat associated with Qatar’s successful 2022
World Cup bid.
And Brazil 2014 thought it had image problems?
On Monday, FIFA was expected to complete a review of whether the Qatar bid was awarded
honestly, and recommend action to the soccer federation’s judicial body.
Once again the British are crying foul, however, complaining
that FIFA’s ethics prosecutor, Michael Garcia, conveniently completed his
investigation in time to avoid weighing new evidence published this
week by The Sunday Times of London, including what the paper said
were millions of emails and travel and financial records showing that Mohamed
bin Hammam, a Qatari billionaire, essentially bought the 2022 bid for Qatar,
colluding with Russian officials in their 2018 World Cup bid as well.
Qatar’s response has been to say virtually nothing in public,
rattle its libel lawyers’ swords in their scabbards — and call on a
little-heard-from organization, the Arab States Broadcasting Union, to defend
Qatar “against the smear campaigns questioning the eligibility of the country
to host the event.”
It is just the latest in what many soccer enthusiasts say was
the most questionable award of a World Cup, the world’s most lucrative and
widely watched event. Qatar had never previously qualified to play in a World
Cup and in June has temperatures reaching to 120 Fahrenheit (49 Celsius), far
too hot to play soccer safely.
In addition, another British newspaper, The Guardian, reported
recently on abuse of workers from Nepal and India, including multiple deaths
that occurred amid inhuman conditions at the dozen stadiums planned for the
games. At the same time, a ruling by the International Labour Organization last March gave Qatar until November to change its kafala
system, in which foreign workers cannot change jobs or even leave the country
without permission from their Qatari sponsors — making them powerless to resist
abusive treatment.
One international trade union called it a “system of modern slavery.”
Qatar’s supporters say the British are simply upset that their own
2018 bid was lost to Russia, at a time when Russia and Qatar were allied to
help one another’s bids.
The dispute has left a bad taste on all sides, even for an
international sport that has been persistently plagued with corruption charges.
Sepp Blatter, FIFA’s president, last month called the decision to give Qatar
the World Cup a mistake.
“Yes, it was a mistake of course, but one makes lots of mistakes
in life,” Mr. Blatter told the Swiss broadcasting network RTS. Others have accused Mr. Blatter of
having tried to torpedo the Qatari bid all along, out of anger at Mr. Hammam’s
abortive efforts to challenge him for the world soccer body’s presidency,
allegedly by buying votes.
Mr. Hammam has since been given a lifetime ban from soccer
activity by FIFA, the organization that oversees international soccer and the
World Cup.
“We say again that Mohamed bin Hammam played no official or
unofficial role in Qatar’s 2022 Bid Committee,” Qatar’s World Cup organizing
committee saidin a post on its website Sunday. “Any objective enquiry will
conclude we won the bid to host the 2022 FIFA World Cub fairly. Following
today’s newspaper articles, we vehemently deny all allegations of wrongdoing,”
the committee’s statement said.
“None of this drama is about football writ large, or even about
corruption,” said Mike Holtzman, head of BLJ
Worldwide, a
consulting firm that gives strategic advice to the emirate. Mr. Holtzman said
he was not speaking officially on behalf of Qatar, but giving his own views.
While Qatar’s rulers may love soccer, that sentiment has not
seemed to trickle down. The kingdom’s biggest stadium, the 40,000-capacity
Khalifa International Stadium, is rarely even half-full — despite generous
offers of door prizes and match-day raffles of luxury automobiles, airline
tickets, televisions and iPhones. The raffle is included in the typical ticket
price — 10 rials, or less than $3. Those who opt out can attend matches for
free.
Those who go to the matches as members of official fan clubs are
actually paid to do so: 100 rials, about $27, according to Qatari sports
journalists who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of losing their jobs.
Some even switch their flags and T-shirts during halftime, so they can collect
the fan fee from both sides. One Qatari journalist recalled buying one ticket
to attend a match, and being given five free ones on the condition he bring
some fans to sit on the other side, where there were no fans.
“I said, ‘But there are no fans on this side either,’ ” he
said.
One of Qatar’s new stadiums, al Sadd, is modeled after
Manchester United’s stadium, and is nicknamed Old Trafford al Sahara, but
unlike its namesake it has a roof and air-conditioning. It is the home of
Qatar’s national soccer team, which plays there during the winter — and even
then they turn on the air-conditioning, for fans as well as players.
Especially worrisome for the World Cup and FIFA is the position
of major World Cup sponsors, which include Visa, Sony, Coca-Cola and Adidas,
all of which have expressed concern over the controversy surrounding how Qatar
won its 2022 bid.
“We understand FIFA is taking this matter seriously and we will
continue to monitor its internal investigation,” said Melissa Cassar, a
spokeswoman for Visa, on Monday. “We expect FIFA will take the appropriate
actions to respond to the report and its recommendations.”
More than just sponsors’ money is at stake. Qatar has been
lobbying to move the World Cup to the winter months, which in turn has caused
concern for the broadcaster Fox, which won the rights to the soccer tournament
in 2022, but would not want it to conflict with the National Football League
season in the United States.
Britain’s big-money Premier League, where tickets typically cost
more than $100, plays its matches over the winter, and would not want to take
up to two months off for a World Cup. And the International Olympic Committee
does not want a conflict with the 2022 Winter Olympics in the beginning of the
year.
Last January, when Jerome Valcke, the secretary general of FIFA
and its second in command, said a switch of the 2022 World Cup to winter was
likely,criticism was immediate, and the organization
has yet to formally announce a final decision.
