6 FIFA members accused of wrongdoing in Cup bids
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Soccer's governing body was hit by more corruption allegations on Tuesday when six FIFA executive committee members were accused of receiving or demanding bribes during the bidding for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.
Issa Hayatou of Cameroon and Jacques Anouma of the Cote d'Ivoire were allegedly paid $1.5 million to vote for Qatar, according to evidence submitted to a British Parliamentary inquiry by a British newspaper.
The Gulf nation, which beat the United States in the final round of voting for the 2022 tournament in December, later issued a statement denying the "serious and baseless" allegations that will "remain unproven because they are false".
The conduct of Jack Warner, Nicolas Leoz, Ricardo Teixeira and Worawi Makudi in the 2018 contest was described as "improper and unethical" by the former head of England's bid.
The allegations were made in the Culture, Media and Sport Committee of the House of Commons, which is looking at England's failed bid for the 2018 World Cup as part of a wider inquiry into soccer governance.
In Zurich, FIFA President Sepp Blatter said he will ask for evidence of the claims heard at the inquiry and forward any allegations to the FIFA ethics committee.
"I cannot say they are all angels or they are all devils," he said of the executive members.
"We must have the evidence and then we will act immediately against all those (who) would be breach of the ethical code rules," Blatter said.
Referring to his bid for re-election next month against Mohammed bin Hammam of Qatar, Blatter said: "I'm fighting to clear FIFA, I'm fighting to clean FIFA."
Bin Hammam, speaking from Trinidad, countered claims that self interest is rife within soccer's governing body.
"FIFA is not corrupted. We are victims of the popularity of the game," bin Hammam said.
The bidding contest had already been rocked ahead of the vote by details of an undercover investigation by The Sunday Times newspaper, material which was published in October and led to two of FIFA's 24 executive committee members being suspended.
Amos Adamu of Nigeria was found guilty by FIFA's ethics court of soliciting bribes from undercover reporters, while Reynald Temarii of Tahiti was banned for breaching rules on confidentiality and loyalty.
The Sunday Times sent further evidence - which it did not publish at the time for legal reasons - to the British committee on Monday to be made public using parliamentary privilege.
Two of the paper's investigative journalists told the committee in a letter that a whistleblower who had worked for the Qatari bid told them in December that the country "had paid $1.5 million to two FIFA ExCo members - Hayatou and Jacques Anouma of the Cote d'Ivoire - to secure their votes".
Reporters Jonathan Calvert and Claire Newell added "a similar deal had been struck with Amos Adamu, although he was prevented from voting because he was suspended following our original article".
Calvert and Newell said the whistleblower - who was not identified - told them the cash would go to the three members' soccer federations, but "there would be no questions asked about how the money was used".
