Abramovich, Cameron, others in World Cup bribery scandal

Jun 29, 2017 6:22 AM

Former UK Prime Minister David Cameron also asked South Korean football officials to trade votes seeking to win the 2018 FIFA World Cup bid, in a violation of FIFA rules, a report by the game's world governing body on the inquiry into the bidding process has said.

Roman Abramovich has been dragged into the scandal over the countries chosen to host the next two World Cup finals after the long-awaited Michael Garcia report revealed a football foundation linked to the Chelsea owner “destroyed” computers used by Russia’s bid team for next year’s tournament.

Former UK Prime Minister David Cameron also asked South Korean football officials to trade votes seeking to win the 2018 FIFA World Cup bid, in a violation of FIFA rules, a report by the game’s world governing body on the inquiry into the bidding process has said.

According to the report, Geoff Thompson, the former Chairman of England’s 2018 bid team and FIFA vice-president, admitted agreeing to trade votes, with England’s bid team CEO Andy Anson confirming this information.

“According to their statements, shortly before the vote they attended a meeting at the Baur au Lac hotel in Zurich with England’s Prince William, Prime Minister David Cameron, and FIFA Vice President Mong-Joon Chung of Korea, which was bidding to host the World Cup in 2022.”

“The Prime Minister asked Chung to vote for England’s bid, and Chung responded that he would if Mr Thompson voted for Korea. Thompson, who said he had been thinking about voting for Korea even before the meeting with Chung, agreed,” the report said, adding that Chung denied the allegation.

Russia and Qatar were announced as hosting countries of the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cups, respectively, in the Swiss city of Zurich in December 2010.