Editing FIFA (section)

===2018 and 2022 World Cup bids===
{{further|2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bids|Garcia Report}}

FIFA's choice to award the 2018 World Cup to Russia and the 2022 World Cup to Qatar has been widely criticized by media.<ref>{{cite news |author=Simon Barnes |url=http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/sport/fifa-is-a-gathering-of-nasty-mad-old-men/story-fn76vhk4-1225966425228 |title=FIFA is a gathering of nasty, mad old men |work=The Australian |date=6 December 2010 |access-date=22 December 2010 |archive-date=6 December 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101206043123/http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/sport/fifa-is-a-gathering-of-nasty-mad-old-men/story-fn76vhk4-1225966425228 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Rogers |first=Martin |url=https://sports.yahoo.com/soccer/news?slug=ro-worldcupvote120210 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101207100738/http://sports.yahoo.com/soccer/news?slug=ro-worldcupvote120210 |archive-date=7 December 2010 |title=Qatar selection adds to FIFA's ongoing folly – World Soccer |date=2 December 2010 |publisher=Sports.yahoo.com |access-date=22 December 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Seltzer |first=Greg |url=http://www.philadelphiaunion.com/news/2010/12/media-reaction-world-cup-voting |title=Media Reaction to World Cup Voting |publisher=Philadelphia Union |date=3 December 2010 |access-date=22 December 2010 |archive-date=15 December 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101215073402/http://www.philadelphiaunion.com/news/2010/12/media-reaction-world-cup-voting |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sport24.co.za/Columnists/MarkGleeson/FIFA-SAFA-voting-baffling-20101206 |title=FIFA, SAFA voting baffling: Sport: Columnists: Mark Gleeson |publisher=Sport24.co.za |access-date=22 December 2010 |archive-date=13 May 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110513073023/http://www.sport24.co.za/Columnists/MarkGleeson/FIFA-SAFA-voting-baffling-20101206 |url-status=live }}</ref> It has been alleged that some FIFA inside sources insist that the Russian kickbacks of cash and gifts given to FIFA executive members were enough to secure the Russian 2018 bid weeks before the result was announced.<ref>{{cite news |last=Yallop |first=David |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/8181639/England-World-Cup-bid-how-did-we-get-it-so-wrong.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220110/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/8181639/England-World-Cup-bid-how-did-we-get-it-so-wrong.html |archive-date=10 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=England World Cup bid: how did we get it so wrong? |newspaper=Telegraph |date=4 December 2010 |access-date=22 December 2010 |location=London}}{{cbignore}}</ref> Sepp Blatter was widely criticized in the media for giving a warning about the "evils of the media" in a speech to FIFA executive committee members shortly before they voted on the hosting of the 2018 World Cup, a reference to ''[[The Sunday Times]]'' exposés,<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/11559801 |title=Fifa launches investigation into vote-selling claims |work=BBC Sport |date=17 October 2010 |access-date=22 December 2010 |archive-date=8 December 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101208040337/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/11559801 |url-status=live }}</ref> and the ''[[Panorama (TV series)|Panorama]]'' [[FIFA's Dirty Secrets|investigation]].<ref>{{cite news |author=Press Association |url=https://www.theguardian.com/football/2010/dec/03/world-cup-fifa-sepp-blatter |title=England World Cup chief: Fifa's Sepp Blatter spoke of 'evils of media |work=The Guardian |location=UK |date=3 December 2010 |access-date=22 December 2010 |archive-date=20 December 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131220154325/http://www.theguardian.com/football/2010/dec/03/world-cup-fifa-sepp-blatter |url-status=live }}</ref>

Two members of FIFA's executive committee were banned from all football-related activity in November 2010 for allegedly offering to sell their votes to undercover newspaper reporters. In early May 2011, a British parliamentary inquiry into why England failed to secure the 2018 finals was told by a member of parliament, [[Damian Collins]], that there was evidence from ''The Sunday Times'' newspaper that [[Issa Hayatou]] of Cameroon and [[Jacques Anouma]] of Ivory Coast were paid by Qatar. Qatar has categorically denied the allegations, as have Hayatou and Anouma.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.afrikansoccer.com/2011/05/qatar-denies-paying-world-cup-bribes-to-hayatou-anouma/ |title=Qatar denies paying World Cup bribes to Hayatou, Anouma |publisher=Afrikansoccer.com |date=11 May 2011 |access-date=9 July 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110909025719/http://www.afrikansoccer.com/2011/05/qatar-denies-paying-world-cup-bribes-to-hayatou-anouma/ |archive-date=9 September 2011}}</ref>

FIFA president Blatter said, {{as of|2011|May|23|lc=y}}, that the British newspaper ''[[The Sunday Times]]'' has agreed to bring its whistle-blowing source to meet senior FIFA officials, who will decide whether to order a new investigation into alleged World Cup bidding corruption. "[The ''Sunday Times''] are happy, they agreed that they will bring this whistleblower here to Zürich and then we will have a discussion, an investigation of this", Blatter said.

Specifically, the whistle-blower claims that FIFA executive committee members Issa Hayatou and Jacques Anouma were paid $1.5&nbsp;million to vote for Qatar.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-sport/ffa-coy-on-world-cup-bid-rerun-20110520-1ewr2.html |first1=Liam |last1=FitzGibbon |title=FFA coy on World Cup bid re-run |work=Sydney Morning Herald |date=20 May 2011 |access-date=9 July 2011 |archive-date=23 May 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110523132140/http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-sport/ffa-coy-on-world-cup-bid-rerun-20110520-1ewr2.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story/_/id/923253/fifa-investigates-bin-hammam-bribery-claims?cc=5739 |title=FIFA investigates Bin Hammam bribery claims |publisher=ESPN Soccernet |date=25 May 2011 |access-date=9 July 2011 |archive-date=28 May 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110528071350/http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story/_/id/923253/fifa-investigates-bin-hammam-bribery-claims?cc=5739 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The emirate's bid beat the United States in a final round of voting last December. Blatter did not rule out reopening the 2022 vote if corruption could be proved, but urged taking the matter "step by step". The FIFA president said his organization is "anxiously awaiting" more evidence before asking its ethics committee to examine allegations made in Britain's Parliament in early May 2011.

Hayatou, who is from Cameroon, leads the [[Confederation of African Football]] and is a FIFA vice-president. Anouma is president of [[Ivorian Football Federation]]. The whistle-blower said Qatar agreed to pay a third African voter, [[Amos Adamu]], for his support. The [[Nigerian]] was later suspended from voting after a FIFA ethics court ruled he solicited bribes from undercover Sunday Times reporters posing as lobbyists. Blatter said the newspaper and its whistle-blower would meet with FIFA secretary general, [[Jérôme Valcke]], and legal director, Marco Villiger.

Allegations against FIFA officials have also been made to the UK Parliament by [[David Triesman]], the former head of England's bid and the English Football Association. Triesman told the lawmakers that four long-standing FIFA executive committee members—[[Jack Warner (football executive)|Jack Warner]], [[Nicolás Leoz]], [[Ricardo Teixeira]] and [[Worawi Makudi]]—engaged in "improper and unethical" conduct in the 2018 bidding, which was won by Russia. All six FIFA voters have denied wrongdoing.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.espn.com/sports/soccer/news/_/id/6565931/fifa-meet-qatar-2022-bid-whistleblower |agency= Associated Press |title=Sepp Blatter: FIFA to meet Qatar 2022 bid whistleblower |publisher=ESPN |date=19 May 2011 |access-date=9 July 2011 |archive-date=11 August 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110811142257/http://espn.go.com/sports/soccer/news/_/id/6565931/fifa-meet-qatar-2022-bid-whistleblower |url-status=live }}</ref>

On 28 September 2015, [[Sepp Blatter]] suggested that the [[2018 FIFA World Cup|2018 World Cup]] being awarded to Russia was planned before the voting, and that the [[2022 FIFA World Cup|2022 World Cup]] would have then been awarded to the United States. However, this plan changed after the election ballot, and the 2022 World Cup was awarded to Qatar instead of the US.<ref>{{cite news |title=Sepp Blatter: Russia 2018 World Cup 'agreed before vote' |date=28 October 2015 |url=https://www.bbc.com/sport/0/football/34657900 |website=BBC Sport |access-date=14 February 2018 |archive-date=1 January 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160101010331/http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/football/34657900 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Riach |first=James |title=Sepp Blatter: Russia was chosen as 2018 World Cup host before vote |url=https://www.theguardian.com/football/2015/oct/28/sepp-blatter-fifa-russia-2018-world-cup-vote |date=28 October 2015 |work=The Guardian |access-date=11 December 2016 |archive-date=21 December 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161221081914/https://www.theguardian.com/football/2015/oct/28/sepp-blatter-fifa-russia-2018-world-cup-vote |url-status=live }}</ref>

According to leaked documents seen by ''The Sunday Times'', Qatari state-run television channel Al Jazeera secretly offered $400&nbsp;million to FIFA, for broadcasting rights, just 21 days before FIFA announced that Qatar would hold the 2022 World Cup.<ref name=JP>{{cite news |url=https://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/Qatar-offered-FIFA-880-million-for-hosting-the-2022-World-Cup-582998 |title=Qatar offered FIFA $880 million for hosting the 2022 World Cup - report|first1= Alon |last1=Einhorn |work=The Jerusalem Post |date=10 March 2019 |access-date=10 March 2019 |archive-date=11 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190311064625/https://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/Qatar-offered-FIFA-880-million-for-hosting-the-2022-World-Cup-582998 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.thetimes.com/sport/football/article/revealed-qatars-secret-880m-world-cup-payments-to-fifa-p3r5rvw9x |url-access=subscription |title=Exclusive investigation: Qatar's secret $880m World Cup payments to Fifa |work=The Sunday Times |date=10 March 2019 |access-date=10 March 2019 |archive-date=10 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190310150437/https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/revealed-qatars-secret-880m-world-cup-payments-to-fifa-p3r5rvw9x |url-status=live }}</ref>

On 17 July 2012, in the wake of announced anti-corruption reforms by Sepp Blatter, the president of the FIFA,<ref name=GuardJul12>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/football/2012/jul/17/fifa-michael-j-garcia-football-corruption|title=Fifa appoints Michael J Garcia to investigate football corruption|agency=Associated Press |date=17 July 2012 |website=The Guardian |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231007151341/https://www.theguardian.com/football/2012/jul/17/fifa-michael-j-garcia-football-corruption |archive-date= 7 October 2023 }}</ref> the organization appointed US lawyer [[Michael J. Garcia]] as the chairman of the investigative chamber of [[FIFA Ethics Committee]], while German judge [[Hans-Joachim Eckert]] was appointed as the chairman of the Ethics Committee's [[adjudication]] chamber.<ref name=CNNJul12>{{cite web|title=FIFA unveils new crime fighting duo to tackle corruption in soccer|url=https://edition.cnn.com/2012/07/17/sport/football/football-fifa-ethics-corruption/|publisher=[[CNN]]|date=17 July 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231016094614/https://edition.cnn.com/2012/07/17/sport/football/football-fifa-ethics-corruption/ |archive-date= 16 October 2023 }}</ref>

In August 2012, Garcia declared his intention to investigate the bidding process and decision to respectively award the right to host the 2018 and 2022 [[FIFA World Cup]] to [[Russia]] and [[Qatar]] by the [[FIFA Executive Committee]].<ref>{{cite news |date=26 August 2012 |title=FIFA to look into World Cup winning bids |url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-08-27/fifa-to-look-into-world-cup-winning-bids/4224368 |agency=Australian Broadcasting Corporation |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231016094616/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-08-27/fifa-to-look-into-world-cup-winning-bids/4224368 |archive-date= 16 October 2023 }}</ref> Garcia delivered his subsequent 350-page [[Garcia Report|report]] in September 2014, and Eckert then announced that it would not be made public for legal reasons.<ref name=GuardSep14>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/football/2014/sep/24/michael-garcia-fifa-investigation-public-world-cup|title=FIFA prosecutor Michael Garcia calls for World Cup report to be made public|work=[[The Guardian]]|date=24 September 2014 |first1=Owen |last1=Gibson |url-status=live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20231004100435/https://www.theguardian.com/football/2014/sep/24/michael-garcia-fifa-investigation-public-world-cup |archive-date= 4 October 2023 }}</ref>

On 13 November 2014, Eckert released a 42-page summary of his findings after reviewing Garcia's report. The summary cleared both Russia and Qatar of any wrongdoing during the bidding for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups,<ref name=WhatNow>{{cite news |date=13 November 2014 |title=FIFA corruption report: Who is to blame and what happens now? |url=https://www.bbc.com/sport/0/football/30042309 |agency=BBC |first1=Richard |last1=Conway |url-status=live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20221130112522/https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/30042309 |archive-date= 30 November 2022 }}</ref> leaving Russia and Qatar free to stage their respective World Cups.<ref name=APfire>{{cite news|date=13 November 2014 |title=FIFA under fire after report on Qatar, Russia |url=http://bigstory.ap.org/article/4de5fea12fc44b86bd7221bb429f360f/fifa-clears-russia-and-qatar-host-world-cup |agency=Associated Press |first1=Graham |last1=Dunbar |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141116023958/http://bigstory.ap.org/article/4de5fea12fc44b86bd7221bb429f360f/fifa-clears-russia-and-qatar-host-world-cup |archive-date=16 November 2014 }}</ref>

FIFA welcomed "the fact that a degree of closure has been reached", while the [[Associated Press]] wrote that the Eckert summary "was denounced by critics as a [[wiktionary:whitewash#Verb|whitewash]]".<ref name=APfire/> Hours after the Eckert summary was released, Garcia himself criticized it for being "materially incomplete" with "erroneous representations of the facts and conclusions", while declaring his intention to appeal to FIFA's Appeal Committee.<ref name=WhatNow/> On 16 December 2014, FIFA's Appeal Committee dismissed Garcia's appeal against the Eckert summary as "not admissible". FIFA also stated that Eckert's summary was "neither legally binding nor appealable".<ref>{{cite news |date=16 December 2014 |title=FIFA dismisses complaint from lawyer Michael Garcia over report |url=https://www.bbc.com/sport/0/football/30491135 |agency=BBC |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231016095445/https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/30491135 |archive-date= 16 October 2023 }}</ref> A day later, Garcia resigned from his role as FIFA ethics investigator in protest of FIFA's conduct, citing a "lack of leadership" and lost confidence in the independence of Eckert from FIFA.<ref>{{cite news |date=17 December 2014 |title=Michael Garcia: FIFA investigator resigns in World Cup report row |url=https://www.bbc.com/sport/0/football/30522170 |agency=BBC |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231009115832/https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/30522170 |archive-date= 9 October 2023 }}</ref> In June 2015, Swiss authorities claimed the report was of "little value".<ref>[https://www.reuters.com/article/us-soccer-fifa-garcia-idUSKBN0P322B20150623 "Exclusive: Swiss authorities probing FIFA say Garcia report of little help – source"], Mark Hosenball, David Ingram. Reuters. 23 June 2015. Retrieved 14 May 2017.</ref>

In November 2022, the FIFA officials told players not to get involved in politics but focus on sports when they are in Qatar.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.cbssports.com/soccer/news/fifa-president-writes-letter-telling-teams-to-avoid-political-stands-at-qatar-world-cup-per-report/#:~:text=The%202022%20World%20Cup%20in,the%20politics%20of%20the%20event | title=FIFA president writes letter telling teams to avoid political stands at Qatar World Cup, per report | date=4 November 2022 |first1= Austin |last1=Nivison |website=CBS Sports |url-status=live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20230607003244/https://www.cbssports.com/soccer/news/fifa-president-writes-letter-telling-teams-to-avoid-political-stands-at-qatar-world-cup-per-report/#:~:text=The%202022%20World%20Cup%20in,the%20politics%20of%20the%20event |archive-date= 7 June 2023 }}</ref> A few weeks earlier, the football associations and players of Denmark and Australia criticized Qatar for this.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.theguardian.com/football/2022/sep/28/denmark-unveil-world-cup-protest-kits-over-qatar-human-rights-record |agency=Associated Press and Reuters | title=Denmark unveil World Cup 'protest' kits criticising Qatar's human rights record | website=[[TheGuardian.com]] | date=28 September 2022 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230706120430/https://www.theguardian.com/football/2022/sep/28/denmark-unveil-world-cup-protest-kits-over-qatar-human-rights-record |archive-date= 6 July 2023 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2022/oct/28/world-cup-organisers-in-qatar-respond-to-australian-players-criticism-saying-no-country-is-perfect | title=World Cup organisers in Qatar respond to Australian players' criticism, saying 'no country is perfect' | website=[[TheGuardian.com]] | date=28 October 2022 |first1=Mike |last1=Hytner |url-status=live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20230326031552/https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2022/oct/28/world-cup-organisers-in-qatar-respond-to-australian-players-criticism-saying-no-country-is-perfect |archive-date= 26 March 2023 }}</ref>