World Cup match-fixing scandal erupts on the eve of the tournament

[reader]

From the Thaiger

A football has not been kicked in anger at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar and already a match-fixing scandal has erupted.

If the decision to stage football’s most prestigious competition in the Arab country of Qatar wasn’t controversial enough, amid allegations of corruption and human rights violations, FIFA has to deal with an alleged match-fixing impropriety on the eve of the tournament.

The Regional head of the British Centre for Middle East Studies, Amjad Taha, claimed on Twitter that World Cup 2022 host Qatar has bribed eight players from the Ecuador national team to throw the opening match on Sunday, November 20.

Taha, an expert in strategic political affairs and regional director of the British centre in Saudi Arabia, said that eight players have received a combined US$7.4 million (265 million baht) to throw the opening game against Qatar. It is reported that Ecuador will allow Qatar to win 1-0 and the goal will be scored in the second half.

Taha ended his post adding that he hopes the rumour is not true.

The allegations are hard to ignore given Qatar has been accused in the past of bribing FIFA with millions of dollars to be chosen as the host of the World Cup ahead of the United States.

Neither the Qatar government nor the Qatar Football Federation has commented on the rumours.

The opening match between Qatar and Ecuador will kick off on Sunday, November 20. As Thailand can close the deal for the broadcasting license yesterday, football fans in the country can enjoy the first match this Sunday at 11pm.
 

[TotallyOz]

Reader, I'm shocked that you believe all these rumors about such a nice group of people. Give them a chance. They have worked so hard and their people have suffered so much to prepare for the World Cup. This is their time to shine and bring light to the diversity of that region.

[forrestreid]

Well, considering the Ecuador beat Qatar handily to come out with a 2-0 victory, I think the rumour is well and truly scotched now.

[reader]

The news of the bribe getting out could well have been what actually scotched it.

[caeron]

 

After blowing $220B on various things to host the World Cup, what's a few million more?

And for all that money, Qatar still looks like a backwards religious extremist dictatorship trying to spray perfume on a turd.

[PeterRS]

On 11/21/2022 at 10:13 AM, reader said:

The news of the bribe getting out could well have been what actually scotched it.

Personally I doubt it - just as I doubt the original "rumour" as printed in Thaiger. The World Cup is huge in Ecuador. That their national players could be bribed seems utterly far fetched. Like all "secret' arrangements, it would have come out and the players lives would certainly have been in danger.

Not that Qatar has been immune from bribery on a massive scale in respect of the World Cup. There is no doubt that political and financial interests seriously affected the bidding process. Qatar would never have been awarded the tournament without a great deal of cash changing hands. FIFA itself was then a den of corruption - and may still be, although to a lesser extent now that Sheik Blatter is out of the picture. If not, how was it that many involved in FIFA itself and the bidding committee in particular ended up under criminal indictments in various countries or even in jail?

Why FIFA departed from usual practice by awarding two tournaments in 2010 - 2018 and 2022 - instead of just 2018 started the rotten smell of corruption. That the first should be be in Russia was less controversial than the second to Qatar, a state with few stadiums, far from enough hotels, a tiny population for a World Cup and strict anti-alcohol and anti-gay laws. Encouraging the development of mass soccer in a host country has always been FIFA's stated priority. Hence the USA got the Cup in 1994 and it was split between Japan and South Korea in 2002.

Since 2010, the world has learned some of the extent of Qatar's massive efforts to get the tournament when it should never, if only as a result of its tiny size, have even been considered. 

[PeterRS]

Still on the subject of the World Cup, where is the man who succeeded the corrupt Blatter, Blatter being an individual who started his career selling women's underwear and who has encouraged women players to wear much sexier, skimpy shorts to attract more spectators? Giovanni Infantino was thought to be a nameless bureaucrat who would clean up the game. A lawyer by training, he has consistently stayed in the background when it came to Qatar's not following FIFA rules. He did nothing to help the tens of thousands of migrant workers who worked for slave wages and many of whom died building all the new soccer stadia required to host the World Cup. He has said nothing about compensation for those who died. He has said amost nothing about gay visitors. He has banned players from using armbands promoting equality of the sexes by threatening those who did so with virtual bans from playing in the tournament.

This is a man in the pocket of the Qataris.(In his 20s he could speak Arabic!) At his one press conference on the eve of the tournament, he gave a 50 minute monologue about there being nothing to accuse the Qataris about. Instead he claimed Europe should spend the next 3,000 years apologisiing for all the wrongs it did to other peoples on the planet over the orevious 3,000 years.

Clearly FIFA has yet another idiot in charge. Whether he is corrupt or not, remains to be seen. Given the corruption rife throughout FIFA, I suspect @Olddaddy will soon place a bet that Infantino will be up on some criminal charge sooner rather than later.

[reader]

From The Associated Press

Qatari official puts World Cup deaths 'between 400 and 500'

A Qatari official involved in the organisation of the country's World Cup has put the number of worker deaths related to the tournament "between 400 and 500" for the first time, a number drastically higher than any other previously offered by Doha.

The comment by Hassan Al-Thawadi, the secretary general of Qatar's Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy, appeared to be an off-the-cuff remark during an interview with British journalist Piers Morgan.

The comment threatened to renew criticism by human rights groups over the toll of hosting the Middle East's first World Cup given the migrant workers who built more than $200 billion worth of stadiums, metro lines and infrastructure needed for the tournament.

A statement on behalf of a Qatari Supreme Committee spokesperson said on Tuesday: "The Secretary General told Piers Morgan's 'Uncensored' programme that there were 3 work-related deaths and 37 non-work related deaths on the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy's projects.

"This is documented on an annual basis in the SC's public reporting and covers the 8 stadiums, 17 non-competition venues and other related sites under the SC's scope.

"Separate quotes regarding figures refer to national statistics covering the period of 2014-2020 for all work-related fatalities (414) nationwide in Qatar, covering all sectors and nationalities."

In the interview, portions of which Morgan posted online, the journalist asked Al-Thawadi: "What is the honest, realistic total do you think of migrant workers who died from -- as a result of work they're doing for the World Cup in totality?"

"The estimate is around 400, between 400 and 500," Al-Thawadi responded. "I don't have the exact number. That's something that's been discussed."

 

[PeterRS]

So the truth - in part - begins to come out. Previously the Qatar government had admitted to less than 10 deaths. Detailed studies by several organisations and media outlets had put the number at far closer to 7,000. Since the Qatar government refused autopsies, it was clearly a deliberate attempt at a cover up. Most of those workers had to pay recruiters large sums to get jobs working on the World Cup infrastructure. With their deaths, the Qatari's have offered no compensation. The country claims the deaths were by natural causes such as heart failure or respiratory failure. So the families of these workers are left with major debts. Forbes Magazine and various other sources have put the cost to Qatar of hosting the World Cup at $200 BILLION! Yet, it refuses to pay the relatives of those who died preparing for the event even a few thousand $$.

The Qatar World Cup has brought a new word into the lexicon - sportswashing. Quick to get on the bandwagon has been Saudi Arabia which is now hosting a number of major international events in the Kingdom. Along with its neighbouring countries, it owns several of the world's top soccer clubs including English champions Manchester City, Newcastle United and French League leaders Paris-Saint Germain. Emirates, Qatar Airlines and Etihad also plough hundreds of millions into clubs through sponsorship.

The latest sport to be upset by Arab investment is the Saudi backed and financed LIV Golf breakaway Tour. It has lured top golfers away from the US PGA and European PGA tours by offering absurd amounts of money. Sign on bonuses of well over $100 million have been paid to Dustin Johnson and Phil Mickelson (Mickelson has been reported in London's Financial Times as having received $200 million even though he had previously declared the Saudis "scary motherfuckers to get involved with", that he ackbowledges they killed Adnan Khashoggi and "have a horrible record on human rights.") LIV Tournament Prize Money vastly eclipses anything offered by the other regular tours. The LIV tour is estimated to be costing Saudia Arabia's Sovereign Wealth Fund $2 billion - annually.

https://www.ft.com/content/b5b110a6-9280-4d7a-a0b6-09ef2a423c7a

[reader]

From Time

Qatar Corruption Scandal Is Rocking European Parliament

A high-profile corruption case that alleges Qatar bribed European lawmakers to sway policy has rocked the European Parliament.

Belgian federal prosecutors arrested and charged four people as of Tuesday with corruption, money laundering, and participation in a criminal organization on behalf of a “Gulf State,” which Belgian media and some members of the European Assembly have identified as Qatar. European authorities have not named the country.

Among those charged is Greek MEP Eva Kaili, 44, who is one of 14 Vice Presidents of the E.U. body. The European Parliament on Tuesday voted 625 to 1 to strip Kaili of her role over the allegations. She has denied any involvement in the bribery scandal.

The federal prosecutor’s office said “it is suspected that third parties in political and/or strategic positions within the European Parliament were paid large sums of money or offered substantial gifts to influence Parliament’s decisions,” in a statement.

Between Friday and Monday, Belgian police raided at least 20 raids across homes and parliamentary offices, seizing €1.5 million ($1.6 million) in cash, as well as computers and phones.

Six people had been taken in for questioning by authorities so far, with two released, the New York Times reported. Others who were detained on Friday include Kaili’s husband Francesco Giorgi, who works as an aide to Italian MEP Andrea Cozzolino, as well as her father, Alexandros Kailis. They also include Luca Visentini, chief of the International Trade Union Confederation and Pier Antonio Panzeri, a former member of the European parliament, per the Times. The identity of the sixth individual is not known.

The E.U.’s top official, Ursula von der Leyen, expressed “utmost concern” over the allegations on Monday. “This confidence and trust in our institutions need the highest standards of independence and integrity,” von der Leyen said at a news conference. She called for the creation of an independent ethics body moving forward.

[PeterRS]

I cannot understand why people who have taken bribes for whatever reason then decide to keep large quantities of the cash in theiir homes. It reminds me of the Thai senior civil servant in the Transport Ministry who some years ago summoned the police because there had been a burglary in his house and 18 million baht stolen. Once inside, the police were alleged to have discovered roughly 1 billion baht in cash in the basement. The civil servant was transferred to an inactive post in the Prime Minister's office! Last I heard the case was being investigated by the National Anti-Corruption Commission which had demanded that the Attorney General confiscate 65 million baht of the civil servant's stash.

[vinapu]

2 hours ago, PeterRS said:

I cannot understand why people who have taken bribes for whatever reason then decide to keep large quantities of the cash in theiir homes.

they don't want to part with their largesse, depositing in bank may raise questions, Keeping somewhere else may lead to losing control over it. And is must be dose of altruism in it - they want to make police's job easier by keeping all in one place