Quote of the day
“I have no interest in joining in the foolishness that is now passing as news on Qatar and Jack Warner. Nor do I intend to join those who are on a witch hunt against the World Cup 2022 venue. And do consider this as my final comment on this matter.”
Jack Warner responds to newspaper claims that he took bribes to help Qatar win the right to host the 2022 World Cup.
It’s a predictable response, but also a sensible one. Most people accused of serious wrongdoing would head for the courts to sue for libel. But not Warner: the last thing he wants is public scrutiny of his affairs, not to mention his bank accounts.
So, that may well be the last we will hear from him on the subject of Qatar and corruption. Which is a shame.
In 2011, when Warner was forced to resign his football positions, he promised a “tsunami” of revelations against FIFA in the “fullness of time”.
Well that threat was almost three years ago, and the clock is still ticking.
At the time, he accused his opponents of racism and even Zionism.
“I will talk about the racism that is within FIFA. I will talk about the levels of religious discrimination which I sought to correct. I will talk about the Zionism, which probably is the most important reason why this acrid attack on Bin Hammam and me was mounted.”
He said that there had been a “conspiracy to protect the FIFA’s throne for Michel Platini by getting rid of the Muslim Bin Hammam”.
Which is ironic, when you remember that Platini voted for Qatar to host the 2022 finals.
