The cynic in each of us probably read that headline as, “Qatar/Russia World Cup bidding investigation delayed until forever,” but it’s merely being put off until September.
Lawyer Michael Garcia has been leading the investigation and was set to unveil his findings late this month, but now the news is being postponed until September.
That’s probably neither a good sign for FIFA, nor for organizers in Qatar and Russia. While it’s possible Garcia has just been hampered by other important lawyering duties, it’s also very difficult to imagine he’s saying, “Look, everything here looks pristine and devoid of tomfoolery. But I’m going to dig a little more just in case. Give me a month. Ish. Monthish.”
It’s also probably hard to get information in Russia right about now, too, what with it being a hot bed for world news.
From the BBC:Fifa’s ethics committee say they now expect the report to be delivered to ethics judge Joachim Eckert by the “first week of September 2014".
The Qatar 2022 bid committee is facing allegations of corruption, but has denied any wrongdoing.
The Sunday Times allegedin June that Qatar’s former Fifa vice-president, Mohamed bin Hammam, paid £3m to football officials around the world in return for support of the Qatari bid.
Maybe he’s just generous. Ever think of that, “The Sunday Times”?!?
So that’s the latest news on the World Cup’s tenuous tournaments in Europe and Asia. So much fun, so much joy.