Russia and Qatar could be stripped of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups if conclusive proof emerges that the two countries engaged in corrupt practices during the bidding process, the independent chairman of FIFA's audit and compliance committee revealed on Sunday.
“If evidence should emerge that the awards to Qatar and Russia only came about thanks to bought votes then the awards could be invalidated,” said Domenico Scala, in an interview with the Swiss newspaper SonntagsZeitung, according to The Guardian. “This evidence has not yet been brought forth.”
The statement comes on the heels of a turbulent two weeks for FIFA, which saw nine of its current and former officials among the 14 people indicted on racketeering conspiracy and corruption charges as a result of investigation by the FBI and U.S. Department of Justice.
Two days after the arrests, FIFA President Sepp Blatter was elected for a fifth term, but several days later, as the scandal continued to ramp up, he announced his intention to resign in the coming months.
On Wednesday, testimony from former FIFA and CONCACAF official Chuck Blazer, provided to the federal government, was unsealed. In his tesitmoney, Blazer revealed that he had helped facilitate bribery in the bidding processes for the 1998 and 2010 World Cups.
Though the initial FBI investigation did not encompass the bidding process for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, it emerged on Friday that the FBI has since widened its probe into that process.
Both Russia and Qatar have denied any wrongdoing in the awarding of the two tournaments, which was done by a vote by the FIFA Executive Committee in December 2010.
