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World Cup - Triesman: FIFA execs asked for bribes
Tue, 10 May 13:49:00 2011
Former FA chairman David Triesman has accused FIFA executive committee members Jack Warner, Ricardo Teixeira, Nicolas Leoz and Worawi Makudi of asking for favours in return for their votes for England's 2018 World Cup bid.
Related Links
'Shocked' Blatter distances himself
Trio miss 2014 meeting
FIFA donate £17.5m to fight fixing
Triesman was giving evidence to a British parliamentary inquiry into the reasons why England failed in its bid to secure the finals which were awarded to Russia last December.
Triesman spoke at the parliamentary inquiry of the "improper and unethical behaviour" by the four men he named.
Giving exact details about the conversations, he said Warner asked for £2.5m to be "channelled through me" for an education centre in his home country Trinidad and Trinidad.
After the Haiti earthquake struck leaving that country devastated, Warner then asked Triesman for £500,000 to buy Haiti World Cup TV rights.
Triesman said Paraguayan Leoz had requested a knighthood in return for his vote while Teixeira told him "Come and tell me what you have for me".
Thai Makudi wanted control of the television rights for a proposed Thailand v England friendly.
"We had a number of conversations with Mr Makudi, telephone conversations," Triesman said.
"These were some of the things that were put to me personally, sometimes in the presence of others, which in my view did not represent proper and ethical behaviour on the part of members of the executive committee," he added.
"I will take my evidence to FIFA," Triesman added.
Triesman was forced to resign from the FA last year after a newspaper sting in which he was taped during a private conversation claiming 2018 rivals Spain and Russia were conspiring to bribe referees at last year's World Cup in South Africa.
A FIFA investigation found no substance to those allegations by Triesman.
FIFA did, however, ban Nigerian Amos Adamu and Reynauld Temarii of Tahiti, president of the Oceania Football Conferderation, from its executive committee in November over a report in the Sunday Times that they had offered to sell their votes.
When England's bid failed last December, receiving just two out of 22 votes, it sparked bitter recriminations and Roger Burden, the acting FA chairman, stated that he could no longer trust FIFA members and withdrew his candidacy for the job.
FIFA president Sepp Blatter responded to Triesman's comments.
"I was shocked... but one has to see the evidence," Blatter told a news conference in Zurich.
"There is a new round of information, give us time to digest that and start the investigation by asking for evidence on what has been said.
"I repeat, we must have the evidence and we will react immediately against all those in breach of the ethics code rules."
Blatter said the executive committee members were not elected by the same Congress as him.
"They are coming from the others (other confederations), so I cannot say that they are all angels or all devils," he said.
Meanwhile, further shock claims were highlighted by MPs at the culture, media and sport committee in the House of Commons.
Conservative MP Damian Collins said that evidence submitted by the Sunday Times, which the committee will publish, claimed that FIFA vice-president Issa Hayatou from Cameroon and Jacques Anouma from the Ivory Coast were paid $1.5m (£917,000) by Qatar.
Collins said: "The Sunday Times' submission, and this is to be published by us later, claims that $1.5million was paid to FIFA executive committee members Issa Hayatou and Jacques Anouma who went on to vote for Qatar."
Collins said the submission claimed Qatar specifically employed a fixer to arrange deals with African members for their votes.
Eurosport / Reuters
Tue, 10 May 13:49:00 2011
Former FA chairman David Triesman has accused FIFA executive committee members Jack Warner, Ricardo Teixeira, Nicolas Leoz and Worawi Makudi of asking for favours in return for their votes for England's 2018 World Cup bid.
Related Links'Shocked' Blatter distances himself
Trio miss 2014 meeting
FIFA donate £17.5m to fight fixing
Triesman was giving evidence to a British parliamentary inquiry into the reasons why England failed in its bid to secure the finals which were awarded to Russia last December.
Triesman spoke at the parliamentary inquiry of the "improper and unethical behaviour" by the four men he named.
Giving exact details about the conversations, he said Warner asked for £2.5m to be "channelled through me" for an education centre in his home country Trinidad and Trinidad.
After the Haiti earthquake struck leaving that country devastated, Warner then asked Triesman for £500,000 to buy Haiti World Cup TV rights.
Triesman said Paraguayan Leoz had requested a knighthood in return for his vote while Teixeira told him "Come and tell me what you have for me".
Thai Makudi wanted control of the television rights for a proposed Thailand v England friendly.
"We had a number of conversations with Mr Makudi, telephone conversations," Triesman said.
"These were some of the things that were put to me personally, sometimes in the presence of others, which in my view did not represent proper and ethical behaviour on the part of members of the executive committee," he added.
"I will take my evidence to FIFA," Triesman added.
Triesman was forced to resign from the FA last year after a newspaper sting in which he was taped during a private conversation claiming 2018 rivals Spain and Russia were conspiring to bribe referees at last year's World Cup in South Africa.
A FIFA investigation found no substance to those allegations by Triesman.
FIFA did, however, ban Nigerian Amos Adamu and Reynauld Temarii of Tahiti, president of the Oceania Football Conferderation, from its executive committee in November over a report in the Sunday Times that they had offered to sell their votes.
When England's bid failed last December, receiving just two out of 22 votes, it sparked bitter recriminations and Roger Burden, the acting FA chairman, stated that he could no longer trust FIFA members and withdrew his candidacy for the job.
FIFA president Sepp Blatter responded to Triesman's comments.
"I was shocked... but one has to see the evidence," Blatter told a news conference in Zurich.
"There is a new round of information, give us time to digest that and start the investigation by asking for evidence on what has been said.
"I repeat, we must have the evidence and we will react immediately against all those in breach of the ethics code rules."
Blatter said the executive committee members were not elected by the same Congress as him.
"They are coming from the others (other confederations), so I cannot say that they are all angels or all devils," he said.
Meanwhile, further shock claims were highlighted by MPs at the culture, media and sport committee in the House of Commons.
Conservative MP Damian Collins said that evidence submitted by the Sunday Times, which the committee will publish, claimed that FIFA vice-president Issa Hayatou from Cameroon and Jacques Anouma from the Ivory Coast were paid $1.5m (£917,000) by Qatar.
Collins said: "The Sunday Times' submission, and this is to be published by us later, claims that $1.5million was paid to FIFA executive committee members Issa Hayatou and Jacques Anouma who went on to vote for Qatar."
Collins said the submission claimed Qatar specifically employed a fixer to arrange deals with African members for their votes.
Eurosport / Reuters
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