The 2022 World Cup is unlikely to be moved from Qatar despite another round of criminal indictments by the United States Department of Justice accusing three FIFA officials of receiving bribes.
The indictment is also explosive for accusing the Russian authorities, for the first time, of paying bribes for votes in favor of their successful bid to host the 2018 World Cup.
In a statement, the supreme committee said it would fight any accusation that it did not win the votes legitimately. “Despite years of false claims, evidence has never been produced to demonstrate that Qatar won the rights to host the Fifa World Cup 2022 unethically or by means that contravened Fifa’s strict bidding rules,” the statement said.
“The supreme committee maintains that it strictly adhered to all rules and regulations for the 2018/2022 FIFA World Cup bidding process and any claim to the contrary is baseless and will be fiercely contested.”