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ZURICH: FIFA plunged deeper into crisis on Monday when its general secretary confirmed he had sent a private email to a fellow executive committee member saying Qatar bought the rights to stage the 2022 World Cup.
Jerome Valcke, who as general secretary of world football's governing body is president Sepp Blatter's right-hand man, told reporters an email made public by vice-president Jack Warner was genuine.
According to Warner, who is under provisional suspension from all football activity, the email referred to Mohamed bin Hammam, who was at that time a candidate to stand against Blatter in the presidential election.
“For MBH, I never understood why he was running,” Warner quoted the email from Valcke as saying. “If really he thought he had a chance or just being an extreme way to express how much he does not like anymore JSB (Blatter).
“Or he thought you can buy FIFA as they bought the WC (World Cup).”
Bin Hammam withdrew from the presidential race before the ethics committee suspended him and Warner on Sunday.
The committee decided both men had cases to answer over allegations that the Qatari paid bribes to Caribbean officials to vote for him in Wednesday's election instead of Blatter.
Valcke told reporters in Zurich on Monday he did send the email but that Warner had only published selected parts of it.
“It was a private email and we will discuss it,” Valcke said ahead of the FIFA congress which starts on Tuesday.
“He sent me an email asking if I want that (Bin Hammam to run). He said that I should ask Bin Hammam to pull out.”
On Monday, an Australian senator demanded a refund from FIFA on the $48.8 million the country spent on its bid for the 2022 World Cup, won by Qatar.
Earlier this month, Qatar's World Cup bid team strongly denied allegations, made by a British member of parliament, that it had paid two exco members to vote for the Gulf nation.
FOURTH TERM
Blatter, the 75-year-old Swiss, is due to address a news conference on Monday (1600 GMT).
He is set to stand unopposed for a fourth term in charge of FIFA on Wednesday amid widespread calls for reform of the organisation, which has been dogged by allegations of corruption.
Problems have been stacking up for FIFA and Blatter, who was cleared of any wrongdoing in the bribes-for-votes hearing on Sunday, since the vote to stage the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.
Last November, exco members Reynald Temarii and Amos Adamu were banned over allegations that they agreed to sell their votes in the 2018 and 2022 World Cup hosting contest to undercover newspaper reporters.
In total, 10 of the 24 members of the powerful executive committee have been subject to allegations of corruption in the last year.
Questioned by reporters on Sunday, Valcke had agreed that FIFA was facing “a watershed moment”, drawing comparisons with the International Olympic Committee's crisis when IOC delegates were found guilty of taking bribes for votes to award the 2002 Winter Games to Salt Lake City.
During Blatter's 13 years in charge, FIFA has grown rich through sales of TV rights, sponsorship and merchandising opportunities and currently boasts reserves of over $1 billion.
