Qatar unlikely to lose 2022 World Cup despite bribery allegations, says anti-corruption expert

Due to the sweltering summer weather in the Middle East, the 2022 World Cup will be held in the winter for the first time ever.

In an updated US Department of Justice indictment on Monday, it was alleged two former members of FIFA's executive committee, Nicolas Leoz and Ricardo Teixeira, accepted incentives to vote for Qatar to host the 2022 World Cup.

But anti-corruption expert Sylvia Schenk, the head of Transparency International Germany's sport working group, believes the corruption claims lack substance.

She told the PA news agency: "There is not much substance in the indictment regarding bribery linked to Qatar, not even the amount allegedly paid specified.

"The person/entity who paid is not named, neither any facts around how and when a payment was made. There is only one sentence in a 70-page indictment.

"I cannot imagine that this supports any further step. Allegations like that were already part of the Garcia report in 2015 but couldn't be proved then."

A report by independent investigator Michael Garcia, written in 2014 and published by FIFA in 2017 after a section of it was leaked in the German media, examined the circumstances surrounding the bidding process for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, which was run concurrently and concluded with a joint vote in December 2010.

Schenk, who was appointed to the independent human rights advisory board set up by football's world governing body in 2017, said FIFA would need 'a justified reason' under Swiss law to terminate its hosting contract with Qatar.

She said if a legal challenge was raised, it would not conclude before 2028 at the earliest.

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In a statement denying recent bribery allegations on Tuesday, Qatar's World Cup organising committee said: "Qatar's Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy (SC) strongly denies the allegations contained within the court papers made public in the US on April 6, 2020.

"They are part of a long-standing case, the subject of which is not the 2018/2022 FIFA World Cup bidding process.

"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 SC 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."

Qatar are unlikely to lose their right to host the 2022 World Cup despite allegations of bribery, according to an anti-corruption expert.