FIFA Vice-President Jim Boyce says he Would be in Favour of a Re-Vote for World Cup
-if Corruption Allegations are Proven
- Allegations that Mohamed Bin Hamman was lobbying for of his country
- Boyce said Michael Garcia would have to widen his investigation
- FIFA vice-president also gave his support to current president Sepp Blatter
- Boyce has been FIFA vice-president since 2011
- Remains to be seen whether FIFA will sanction a re-vote
Daily Mail UK, 2 June 2014
FIFA vice-president Jim Boyce would be in favour of re-running the vote for the 2022 World Cup if allegations that widespread corruption was involved in the Qatar bid were proven.
The Sunday Times has claimed that it had received 'hundreds of millions' of documents which allegedly revealed that disgraced former FIFA executive committee member Mohamed Bin Hammam had made payments to football officials in return for votes for Qatar.
Boyce, who was not on the executive committee on the world governing body at the time of the vote, said FIFA's chief investigator Michael Garcia, who is already looking into allegations of corruption, would have to widen his investigation.
Support: FIFA vice-president Jim Boyce (left) says he would be in favour of a re-vote should the corruption allegations be proven
Boyce told Radio 5 Live's Sportsweek programme: 'As a member currently of the FIFA executive committee, we feel that any evidence whatsoever that people involved were bribed to do a certain vote, all that evidence should go to Michael Garcia, whom FIFA have given full authority to, and let's await the report that comes back from Garcia.
'If Garcia's report comes up and his recommendations are that wrongdoing happened for that vote for the 2022 World Cup, I certainly as a member of the executive co would have absolutely no problem whatsoever if the recommendation was for a re-vote.
'If Garcia comes up with concrete evidence and concrete evidence is given to the executive committee and to FIFA then it has to be looked at very seriously at that time, there's no doubt about that.'
Vice-president: Boyce took up his current role with FIFA in 2011
Boyce, who said he had not had the chance to read the Sunday Times report, feels Garcia's investigation should not be hurried.
He said: 'The man has got to be given full control to do that investigation thoroughly and if it takes more time to do that investigation thoroughly so be it.
'I have not met Garcia, but I'm told he's a man of the very, very highest calibre and I'm told he's someone who will not shirk the responsibilities that he has been given. I certainly hope that's going to be the situation.'
Boyce pointed out that 50 percent of the executive committee members at the time of the 2022 vote had since left the governing body.
The Northern Irishman also insisted FIFA president Sepp Blatter's position should not be called into question by the allegations.
Trust: Boyce gave his support to FIFA president Sepp Blatter (left) and said his position shouldn't be questioned
He said: 'From the day that I became a member of the executive committee and from the day that Sepp Blatter announced that he wanted to see complete and utter reforms carried out by FIFA, he has led these investigations and he has led a lot of the reforms that were badly needed at FIFA that are now being carried out.
'There is no suggestion whatsoever that he was involved in any wrongdoing.
"When Garcia's report comes back to him, as president of FIFA he has to give leadership.
'There are people in authority who are not aware of things that go on regarding other individuals and if he personally wasn't involved in this I don't think there's any reason whatsoever for him to resign.
'He is still the president of FIFA and I'm sure he, like the rest of the decent people and the people who are involved in FIFA, are awaiting with great interest Mr Garcia's report.'
Former England footballer Gary Lineker tweeted this morning that he believed that FIFA should hold another vote.
Support: Gary Lineker shows his support a re-vote and for Australia's World Cup bid
Claims: The Sunday Times claims to have documents that prove
Mohamed bin Hammam made payments to officials to get support for Qatar's successful World Cup bid
Hosts: Qatar held off competition from Australia to win the rights to host the 2022 World Cup
Rivals: Bin Hammam (right) tried to run against Sepp Blatter (left) for FIFA president but withdrew following allegations of bribery
Under a front-page headline of 'Plot to buy the World Cup,'
The Sunday Times alleges that Mohamed Bin Hammam, a Qatari who used to be a FIFA vice president, was lobbying on his country's behalf ahead of the vote in December 2010.
The newspaper alleges that Bin Hammam made dozens of payments to top football officials in Africa as well as Jack Warner and Reynald Temarii, former FIFA executive committee members for CONCACAF and Oceania.
The allegations come less than two weeks before the start of the World Cup in Brazil and bring fresh scrutiny on the 2010 vote, which awarded football's biggest tournament to the tiny desert state and currently is under investigation by FIFA's independent ethics prosecutor.
The Sunday Times said that Bin Hamman declined to respond to the allegations and that members of Qatar's bid committee denied any link to the former FIFA official, saying he played no secret role in their campaign.
Bribes:
Former FIFA vice-president Jack Warner (left) and Bin Hamman (right) faced allegations of bribery surrounding the 2011 FIFA presidential elections
FIFA: Bin Hammam (left) and Blatter (right) at Doha airport in 2010
Pressure: FIFA has come under scrutiny since awarding the 2022 World Cup to Qatar
Qatari organizers did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Bin Hammam, one of the most controversial figures in FIFA's recent history, is no longer a committee member of world football's governing body after being caught up in a corruption scandal surrounding his failed campaign for its presidency in 2011.
The Sunday Times is alleging, however, that he exploited his position at the heart of FIFA when he was an executive committee member to help to secure votes from key members of its 24-man ruling committee that helped Qatar win the right to host the World Cup.
Qatar defeated bids from the United States, Japan, South Korea and Australia.
According to the newspaper, Bin Hammam used 10 slush funds controlled by his private company and cash handouts to make dozens of payments of up to $200,000 into accounts controlled by the presidents of 30 African football associations who influenced how the continent's four executive members would vote.
He also allegedly hosted lavish junkets for these African officials at which he handed out almost $400,000 in cash.
Sepp Blatter at the Messe Conference Centre in Zurich where he announced Qatar would host the World Cup
World Cup? There have been suggestions that a re-vote will be required after these new allegations
The newspaper says the documents show that Bin Hammam paid out at least 305,000 euros ($415,000) in legal and private detective fees for Temarii after he was suspended for telling undercover reporters that he had been offered $12 million for his vote. Bin Hammam's help allowed him to appeal the suspension and prevent his planned replacement from voting for Australia in the vote, the Sunday Times claimed.
Bin Hammam is also accused of funneling more than $1.6 million directly into bank accounts controlled by Warner, including $450,000 before the vote. Warner resigned from football duties, including his 28-year membership of FIFA's committee, in June 2011 to avoid investigation in a bribery scandal linked to Bin Hammam's campaign for FIFA president.
The Sunday Times also said Bin Hammam paid $800,000 to the Ivory Coast FA, whose executive committee member Jacques Anouma agreed to "push very hard the bid of Qatar," and signed off on two payments of $400,000 each to the federations of two other voters.
END
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A former FIFA vice president alleged to have made payments worth £3m to get support for Qatar World Cup bid, report claims