http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/8343557.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/8334852.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/8321089.stm
England as well as the United States of America is one of the few countries bidding to become hosts of the 2018 or 2022 World Cup. While England deserves to host the World Cup after more than four decades, it made one of the mistakes that may cost it dearly.
During the month of October 2009, the English Committee that was bidding for the 2018 or 2022 World Cup spot gave the wives of the voting committee handbags. While it appears to be a harmless gesture on the part of the committee, it should be construed as nothing more than bribery. The underwriter states this even though the gifts have been considered “symbolic”.
Imagine the uproar that would have occurred in the media if the US Committee bidding for the 2018 or 2022 World Cup were to give out handbags, food, or souvenirs of the distinct cities in America. This occurred during the Olympics when the USA was bidding to host the events and America learned its lesson.
While FIFA has made public its rules about “gifts of a symbolic nature”, it has to learn to clarify or make rules on what constitutes acceptable behavior among bidding nations for the World Cup in order to avoid these problems. FIFA also has to define what is meant by symbolic.
FIFA is planning to hold a special meeting of its Ethics Committee to decide what should be done. Jack Warner who is a Senior Meeting of the FIFA Executive Committee did the right thing in returning the handbag and the rest of the members of the voting committee for World Cup bids should do the same thing.
FIFA should also punish England by removing from bidding for a World Cup until after 2026. It is the only way that a lesson on how to bid for a World Cup will be learned. The BBC should receive praise for reporting this story out in the open.
The people who read this article may say that the underwriter is just simply “promoting the USA bid”. The case is not of favoring one nation over another one. It is a case of bribery and it should be exposed with proper punishment regardless of its origins.
El Noticiero de Alvarez Galloso 