FIFA asks newspaper for more evidence

FIFA said on Monday that it had asked a British newspaper to provide more evidence for a probe into a World Cup scandal after it reported remarks by a former official about collusion between bidders.

“FIFA has immediately requested to receive all the documents and potential evidence that the newspaper has in relation to this matter, and will in any case analyse the material available,” world football’s governing body said in a statement.

The Sunday Times ran a report and video on Sunday by undercover journalists posing as lobbyists, which included reported remarks by ex-FIFA general secretary Michel Zen-Ruffinen about Spain-Portugal and Qatar’s bids to host the World Cup in 2018 and 2022.

FIFA has vowed “zero tolerance” following earlier claims of vote selling in the race to host the events, provisionally suspending executive committee members Amos Adamu of Nigeria and Reynald Temarii representing Oceania last week pending a deeper investigation.

But FIFA’s ethics committee also said last Thursday that it was looking into a second set of allegations on deals between member associations and between their Bid Committees in the race to host the World Cup in 2018 and 2022.

Those could be illicit under world football’s rulebook.