ANKARA (AA) – Qatar can be stripped of its rights to host the FIFA World Cup 2022 if a “shadow of corruption” in the voting process is proved, the top European football association chief said Thursday.
President of the Union of European Football Associations, or the UEFA, Michel Platini spoke about the possibility of the new voting process in a French TV program Wednesday night.
About allegations of massive corruption in awarding the FIFA World Cup 2022 rights to the tiny Gulf state, Platini said: “For Qatar 2022, I’ve never been influenced. I voted in a transparent way. We say that a new voting can be made if there is a shadow of corruption,” he said, adding “but now, we don’t know.”
The European football chief said he supported the right of a Gulf country to host the world cup. “I indicated that I had voted for Qatar because it’s a new territory. I am also one of those who support the idea of playing the tournament during winter.”
He clarified that his vote was never influenced by former French president Nicolas Sarkozy. “The Arab world has lost seven times the opportunity to host the world cup. So, it was important for one of the countries there to have it,” he said.
The official also spoke about the UEFA Euro 2016 Qualifier group match between Serbia and match that had to be abandoned when a scuffle took place on the football pitch.
Platini said there would be a discipline investigation into the incident that involved a remote controlled helicopter drone dropping an Albanian flag and its desecration.
“What if the helicopter had released a bomb instead of a flag? It is a sad thing, but people should be more careful as it can become dangerous,” he said.
