English media may have cost us 2018 World Cup

[Day]

England's 2018 World Cup bid has been "significantly harmed" by a newspaper investigation into the bidding process, says a key member of the campaign team.

A member of the Fifa executive committee previously claimed there would be no backlash against England.

But it now seems the Sunday Times probe into two members of the committee has left England with a mountain to climb ahead of the vote on 2 December.

"It has significantly harmed England's bid," a senior member told BBC Sport.

With four weeks to go to the decision, England's bid team has not given up all hope of turning the situation around.

But senior sources say that the prospect of any future media investigations into the conduct of Fifa officials - including a potential Panorama programme on the BBC - could be fatal for their chances.

One member of the bid team told the BBC: "The question is: can we recover from this? Fifa members feel they are being persecuted by the British media.

"It isn't dead and the next two or three weeks will be delicate but England's bid has been damaged and it's going to take a lot of hard work to repair that damage."

One move being considered by England's bid is to ask all the editors of the national newspapers and broadcasters to write to Fifa declaring their support for the 2018 bid.

Whether that would address the damage done in recent weeks is unlikely but it was a tactic used by the team leading London's bid for the 2012 Olympics when organisers feared that a Panorama investigation could derail the campaign.

The difference then was London 2012 had more than a year to reassure IOC members that awarding the Games to London would not mark the start of a seven-year campaign against the people who run the Olympics.

Fifa's ethics committee is due to meet from 15-17 November to discuss whether to take further action against the two executive committee members - Amos Adamu from Nigeria and Reynald Temarii from Tahiti - who were accused in the Sunday Times expose.

Reporters from the newspaper posed as lobbyists for a consortium of private American companies who wanted to secure the World Cup for the United States. Adamu has been accused of asking to be paid £500,000 - half of that up front - to build four artificial football pitches in his home country.

Temarii, a Fifa vice-president who represents the Oceania confederation, was alleged to have requested £1.5m for a sports academy to be built in the region.

Both deny any wrongdoing and will fight the allegations when they appear before Fifa's ethics committee later this month.

The committee will also consider claims made by the former Fifa general secretary Michel Zen Ruffinen that Spain and Portugal's bid team for 2018 has formed a voting alliance with Qatar for 2022 - a move which is against Fifa's bidding rules.

Bid leaders from Spain/Portugal and Qatar are refusing to comment officially on the allegations although the head of the Portuguese FA, Gilberto Modail has categorically denied the claims which Zen Ruffinen now says were an exaggeration to impress the reporters posing as American lobbyists.

The Fifa president Sepp Blatter signalled the start of a backlash against the British media last Friday when he said: "One can ask whether such an action is appropriate, trying to set traps for people. It is a deeply rooted problem [with the English media].

"Who is benefitting from this situation and who is being harmed, we are asking ourselves why did it happen and why did it happen specifically by English journalists? We are looking at that."

And the head of the Asian Football Confederation, Mohamed Bin Hammam, has used his blog to attack the British media. He wrote: "Is it ethical to use unethical methods to protect the ethic? How will we clean dirty laundry by using dirty water?"

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/9157121.stm

[Hartley Hare]

FIFA is a closed shop, they don't like their dirty laundry aired in public. Doesn't matter if the allegations are true or not. They don't seem to understand that they're a huge multi-billion pound/dollar/insert currency here organisation and that brings a high profile. FIFA is supposed to be the guardian of the game, ensuring fair play and yet they can't even sort themselves out, basically because they don't want to while there's so much personal profit to be made. Everyone knows this, but FIFA pretend that no-one notices. Since the English are traditionally sticklers for fair play, then why should they be surprised that corruption is uncovered by British journalists?

Interesting comment by the Asian Football Fed chief at the end, admitting that they have dirty laundry. I bet he didn't get that comment cleared by dear old Sepp.

[StaffsRam]

I couldn't give two sh1ts about England getting the world cup. Fifa, the FA, the British media, they're all as bad as each other. T0ssp0ts.

[Gusboll]

I couldn't give two sh1ts about England getting the world cup. Fifa, the FA, the British media, they're all as bad as each other. T0ssp0ts.

I tend to agree; If they aren't corrupt most of them appear to be inept.

[Alph]

I couldn't give two sh1ts about England getting the world cup. Fifa, the FA, the British media, they're all as bad as each other. T0ssp0ts.

The only part of that i'd not agree with is the last bit.

I know a few t0ssp0ts that will be offended being compared to that lot.

[Alex W]

The only part of that i'd not agree with is the last bit.

I know a few t0ssp0ts that will be offended being compared to that lot.

:frown:

[Alph]

:frown:

You know full well when i slate the media i exclude anyone that supports Derby County and uses dcfcfans and is called Alex W.

You knows it

[Alex W]

You know full well when i slate the media i exclude anyone that supports Derby County and uses dcfcfans and is called Alex W.

You knows it

Phew

[rynny]

England's bid started to fail, and lost my interest, the day they chose to pick a stadium that hasn't been built, the land isn't owned by the club that wants to use it or by the council that wants to buid it, if it ever gets planning permision. Seriously how can anybody pick that scenario for a football stadium to host the world cup? And our owners are called spin merchants?

Also MK Dons ground? Plymouth's ground? Joke from start to finish!! I hope it goes to holland/Belgium the only ones not to get involved in politics and had accusations made by/against them. Just got on with their own bid!!

[Alex W]

England's bid started to fail, and lost my interest, the day they chose to pick a stadium that hasn't been built, the land isn't owned by the club that wants to use it or by the council that wants to buid it, if it ever gets planning permision. Seriously how can anybody pick that scenario for a football stadium to host the world cup? And our owners are called spin merchants?

Also MK Dons ground? Plymouth's ground? Joke from start to finish!! I hope it goes to holland/Belgium the only ones not to get involved in politics and had accusations made by/against them. Just got on with their own bid!!

Their bids were picked over ours as it was declared by all three East Midlands clubs that it was only feasable that one of the clubs could get picked from the area.

We couldn't have two. And Nottingham only won it as they've got the better transport services, which is fair enough. And their bid will be void anyway I think, they can't get the stadium anyway.

[Dangerous]

I couldnt care less about getting it.In a way I hope we dont.It may show the FA to be the totally inept association regarding football that they are.They make FIFA look productive.

[rynny]

I know that about the other 2, alex, i just think that it is ridiculous that they were chosen at all, surely southampton would have been better than plymouth?

As for the Nottingham bid, surely the FA would realise that it would never be built, so why shoose it in the 1st place? But like I said i hope holland get it out.

[Perky1106]

I knew it was over as soon as the list of cities was announced and many contained 'proposed stadiums'. Bristol, Nottingham, Liverpool and one of the possible London venue choices were based on stadiums where construction has barely begun, let alone planning permission and funding. Also, with a deficit and Olympics in two years, are the government really going to be willing to put taxpayer's money into new stadiums/expansions that wouldn't be filled, just for a four week novelty? Unlike the Olympics, the whole thing just hasn't been thought through at all.

Also, Plymouth and MK Dons were very bizzarre choices for cities.

[Pearl Ram]

England's bid started to fail, and lost my interest, the day they chose to pick a stadium that hasn't been built, the land isn't owned by the club that wants to use it or by the council that wants to buid it, if it ever gets planning permision. Seriously how can anybody pick that scenario for a football stadium to host the world cup? And our owners are called spin merchants?

Also MK Dons ground? Plymouth's ground? Joke from start to finish!! I hope it goes to holland/Belgium the only ones not to get involved in politics and had accusations made by/against them. Just got on with their own bid!!

Like you rynny I lost interest when PP was overlooked in favour of places with no football tradition in the true sense (MK :confused:) Bristol ? Plymouth ? Real hotbeads of football they are.

Am I correct in thinking Pride Park held the record for an attendance for an under 21 game ? Surely those fans deserve a reward for their loyalty to England's youngsters, no ?

Also, isnt PP the only ground in the country to be opened by a reigning monarch? Ok it's a little tenuous but surely that gave us a slight advantage over Milton chuffin' Keynes :mad:

Lastly, this Holland Belgium business, I am totally against two countries sharing a competition because it takes two places in the finals as opposed to only one. Maybe they should play each other over two legs, the overall winner going through as hosts and the loser having to qualify like every other nation.

[rynny]

Like you rynny I lost interest when PP was overlooked in favour of places with no football tradition in the true sense (MK :confused:) Bristol ? Plymouth ? Real hotbeads of football they are.

Am I correct in thinking Pride Park held the record for an attendance for an under 21 game ? Surely those fans deserve a reward for their loyalty to England's youngsters, no ?

Also, isnt PP the only ground in the country to be opened by a reigning monarch? Ok it's a little tenuous but surely that gave us a slight advantage over Milton chuffin' Keynes :mad:

Lastly, this Holland Belgium business, I am totally against two countries sharing a competition because it takes two places in the finals as opposed to only one. Maybe they should play each other over two legs, the overall winner going through as hosts and the loser having to qualify like every other nation.

It's not that they got chose and we never, it's the fact that they got chose full stop, not too bothered about Bristol getting picked, all areas of the country need a chance to see the world cup, but like I said Southampton are a better option than Plymouth. As for MK Dons, they didn't have team 10 years ago, it is like giving it FC United of Manchester, just a joke!

As for the Belgian/Dutch bid, I can see your point, but like I said they are the only bid that has just got on with it, they hosted Euro 2000 very well, it also gives an opportunity for Belgium to appear in the finals.

[Leeds Ram]

god knows how milton keynes got considered over us, tbh i hope we don't get it, i would rather see belarus have it than us

[Day]

I think alot of people are forgetting it's not about the club but the actual stadium, I'm sure Fifa doesn't give 2 hoots which club plays at the stadium nor the history behind that club.

[Alex W]

I think alot of people are forgetting it's not about the club but the actual stadium, I'm sure Fifa doesn't give 2 hoots which club plays at the stadium nor the history behind that club.

Exactly.

It's also about the transport, local facilities etc.

We didn't get it because Forest beat us to it. It's highly likely though that Forest won't be able to get the new stadium they need to have approved in order for their bid to go through, and so we'll probably pip Leicester to it if that happens.

[Hartley Hare]

You'd hope we'd pip Leicester, the stadiums are similar but Pride Park is in a much better location for both road and rail, and it's closer to the city centre facilities too. No contest in my mind, but then there wouldn't be...

[Pearl Ram]

I think alot of people are forgetting it's not about the club but the actual stadium, I'm sure Fifa doesn't give 2 hoots which club plays at the stadium nor the history behind that club.

As I pointed out in my earlier post, one of the reason's I'm disappointed to be overlooked is because the good people of Derby turned out in such numbers to support England's under 21's that they held the attendance record for such a match, surely a statement to FIFA what a success any World Cup games held there would be.