LONDON: Qatar's hosting of the World Cup has been thrown into fresh doubt following new corruption allegations around the Gulf state's bid to stage the 2022 tournament, a football business expert has said.
The 2022 tournament has been beset by charges of corruption and backhanders since Qatar was surprisingly gifted hosting rights in 2010.
On Sunday further allegations emerged with the publication of extracts from a new book by Bonita Mersiades, a whistleblower from inside Australia’s failed 2022 bid.
According to the Mail on Sunday, the book claims that Qatar’s state TV company agreed a $100 million payment to FIFA should the 2022 finals come to Qatar. The book also claims that the then FIFA President Sepp Blatter knew before the vote was even conducted that Qatar would win and favorites US would lose out, and that he was so certain of it that he personally called the then US President Barack Obama before the vote to tell him the US would lose.
These allegations came on the same weekend as Bayern Munich fans protested against the club’s association with Qatar.
Football business expert Simon Chadwick said the steady stream of charges of corruption surrounding the event, coupled with the current diplomatic crisis in the Gulf, means that Qatar is less likely to host the World Cup in four years’ time.
“The pressure is continuing to build on Qatar and one wonders how much the country is now in control of its own destiny,” Chadwick, professor of Sports Enterprise at Salford University and a global expert on sport’s use as a tool for soft power, told Arab News.
“These latest revelations are hardly surprising, indeed they are yet more in a stream of similar such allegations. But this is more a condemnation of FIFA than of Doha and its government, as Qatar is not alone in being embroiled in world football's ongoing governance problems.
“Of more concern is the fact that challenges are stacking up for Qatar; in addition to the new book, the Gulf stand-off shows no sign of abating, whilst in Germany over the weekend Bayern Munich fans protested against the club’s association with Qatar.
“If Qatar is to weather the storm, it will take a great deal of work, fortitude and ultimately, one suspects, luck.”
The new book says that in the months before the vote in December 2010 — with FIFA executives privately worried that a Qatar win would leave a financial shortfall for coffers in 2022 — the sports arm of broadcaster Al Jazeera, now known as beIN Sports, agreed the secret deal to pay $100 million if Qatar won the vote.
When asked about the payment by The Mail on Sunday this week, the broadcaster did not dispute it but characterized the bonus as “production contributions” that are “standard market practice and are often imposed upon broadcasters by sports federations and sports rights holders.”
The book claims that Blatter, currently banned from all football-related activities, was dismayed with Qatar’s win and wanted the country stripped of the hosting rights but he twice did a deal to stop that happening in exchange for the emir of Qatar’s guarantee that Blatter would not face a 2011 FIFA presidential challenge from former executive committee member Mohamed bin Hammam.
Blatter’s original aim to not see Qatar host the showpiece football tournament may still come true, however.
“Ongoing US investigations and legal proceedings might push world football towards a tipping point from which there might be no way back,” Chadwick said.
“Until a ball is kicked at the 2022 World Cup anything is surely possible. So, I don’t think there are necessarily any timeframes or limits in place. In any case, FIFA should in theory have a contingency in place.”
Qatar’s hosting of World Cup 2022 thrown into fresh doubt
Qatar’s hosting of World Cup 2022 thrown into fresh doubt
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Olympic organizing team unveiled for 2030 Winter Games in French Alps
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- A bid hastily pulled together in 2023 was approved by the International Olympic Committee only last July — in Paris on the eve of a hugely successful Summer Game
- The project is now led by Edgar Grospiron, a freestyle skiing gold medalist in 1992 when France last hosted the Winter Games and a late hire in recent days as president of the organizing committee
- The French Alps organizing committee has a prudent operational budget of €2 billion ($2.1 billion)
LYON, France: Just five years before the opening ceremony, French organizers of the 2030 Winter Games put on a united front Tuesday to unveil the team given the tightest schedule of any modern Olympics.
The 2030 French Alps Olympics must tie together snow and sliding venues in the mountains with skating and curling arenas among the palm trees on the Riviera coastal city Nice.
A bid hastily pulled together in 2023 was approved by the International Olympic Committee only last July — in Paris on the eve of a hugely successful Summer Games — and even then with a special exemption to wait several months for guarantees from the national government.
The project is now led by Edgar Grospiron, a freestyle skiing gold medalist in 1992 when France last hosted the Winter Games and a late hire in recent days as president of the organizing committee.
“What’s important now is that from now we organize it, we deliver it,” Grospiron said at a slick launch event at the stadium of soccer club Lyon, aiming for a Winter Games that is “impeccable and irreproachable.”
Grospiron spoke after a parade of national and regional political figures, including sports minister Marie Barsacq and Michel Barnier, who as prime minister last October signed off the government’s support.
Layers of lawmakers’ support has been vital to a project that still needs an ice arena built in Nice and a venue for speed skating, which could end up in Italy or the Netherlands.
The popular success and expertise gained at the Paris Olympics was stressed as a foundation for the Winter Games which used to be given seven years by the IOC to organize.
“We are not starting from zero,” the IOC’s executive director of Olympic Games, Christophe Dubi, told The Associated Press. “We had a great shortcut and it’s called Paris 2024. Many of those things we can cut and paste.”
The IOC started 2023 with no clear candidate and a shrinking pool of options to host a cost-effective and sustainable Winter Games in 2030. A Swedish project centered on Stockholm seemed favored before a French bid emerged out of the IOC’s strong pre-Paris relations with President Emmanuel Macron and national Olympic officials.
France’s win was confirmed on the same day in Paris as the 2034 Winter Games were awarded to Salt Lake City with four extra years to prepare. Its organizing team was unveiled in Utah last week.
“We are the cradle of Olympism,” said David Lappartient, leader of the French Olympic body and a candidate in the IOC presidential election next month. France already hosted three Summer Games in Paris and three previous Winter Games: Chamonix in 1924, Grenoble in 1968 and Albertville in 1992 that Barnier helped organize.
The French Alps organizing committee has a prudent operational budget of €2 billion ($2.1 billion) and speakers Tuesday stressed the need for a project that was financially sober and in moderation.
A key theme also was adapting to climate change and delivering an Olympics and subsequent Paralympic Winter Games that are sustainable.
“I would never pretend that the games want to save the world,” Grospiron said, “but I think we can contribute to changing how it moves forward.”
Rising to environmental challenges was stressed by the head of the Provence-Alpes-Cote d’Azur region that includes Nice and Marseille. Renaud Muselier cautioned that in dealing with the reality of climate change “defeatism has the same effect as skepticism.”
Bayern score late to see off Celtic in Champions League
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- Bayern will face either their fellow German rivals Bayer Leverkusen or Spanish giants Atletico Madrid in the last 16
MUNICH, Germany: Bayern Munich secured their place in the last 16 of the Champions League with a 94th minute strike by Alphonso Davies on Tuesday to secure a 1-1 draw on the night and a 3-2 aggregate win.
Bayern will face either their fellow German rivals Bayer Leverkusen or Spanish giants Atletico Madrid in the last 16.
Celtic had led 1-0 since the 63rd minute and the Scottish side had been on the verge of taking the German giants to extra time and pulling off their first ever win in Germany.
But with Harry Kane off injured and time running out, Davies stepped up as Bayern’s savior, tapping in after Celtic keeper Kasper Schmeichel had kept out Leon Goretzka’s header.
Bayern went into this game 2-1 up from last week’s first leg at Celtic Park and seeking to stretch their unbeaten run to seven games in all competitions.
Bayern dominated possession in the first half but Celtic were more dangerous with at least three clear cut chances to score before the break.
Former Bayern Munich second-team player, Nicolas Kuehn beat Manuel Neuer but Raphael Guerreiro cleared off the line.
Moments later, Alistair Johnston flashed a dangerous ball across the Bayern goal. With Neuer stranded the ball flew just beyond Daizen Maeda.
Then Maeda missed a golden opportunity to put Celtic ahead. When Dayot Upamecano was forced into a stray pass, Kuehn led the surge forward and fed Maeda, who blazed over with Kuehn and Jota in support.
Bayern dominated the ball on a freezing night but suffered with a lack of quality in attack.
Serge Gnabry was wasteful while Kane sometimes cut an isolated figure, starved of service.
The England captain’s best chance saw him rattling the bar with a snapshot after Josip Stanisic picked him out from the right.
That would be Kane’s final action. The striker was withdrawn at half time, feeling the effects of an injury picked up against Bayer Leverkusen on Saturday.
Bayern upped the pressure after the break and fashioned a clear chance when Goretzka went clean through. Schmeichel, however, made a crucial stop to keep Celtic in the game.
Soon after, Celtic were in front. Maeda seized on a loose pass by Josip Stanisic and helped it on toward Kuehn. Min-Jae Kim reached the ball first but could not clear and Kuehn was able to take a touch and find the bottom corner.
It was a goal that shocked the Allianz Arena and threatened Bayern’s record of 20 European home games unbeaten. Celtic were delivering on coach Brendan Rodgers’ pre-match battle cry to show bravery.
Bayern sought an equalizer but Vincent Kompany’s side were reduced to long-range shots, with Schmeichel pulling off saves from Joshua Kimmich, Michael Olize and substitute Leroy Sane.
Celtic were moments away from inflicting Bayern’s first defeat by a Scottish team and taking the tie into extra-time but the game had a sting in the tail. Olize delivered a pinpoint cross that was met by Goretzka.
Schmeichel saved but Davies scrambled the rebound home off his shin to send Bayern through to the last 16.
Ancelotti downplays Guardiola’s suggestion Man City have 1 percent chance of eliminating Madrid in playoffs
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- “He doesn’t really think that,” Ancelotti said on Tuesday in a pre-match news conference
- Guardiola later said he lied a bit when he talked about the 1 percent, and that he knows City’s chances of reversing the first-leg defeat are higher than that
MADRID: Coach Carlo Ancelotti is not buying Manchester City rival Pep Guardiola’s suggestion that his own side have only a 1 percent chance of eliminating Real Madrid in the Champions League playoffs on Wednesday.
Madrid rallied late to win the first leg 3-2 last week in England to seize control ahead of their home match at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium.
After City’s 4-0 win over Newcastle in the Premier League on Saturday, Guardiola said his team would arrive in the Spanish capital with a “1 percent” chance of going through to the round of 16.
“He doesn’t really think that,” Ancelotti said on Tuesday in a pre-match news conference. “Tomorrow I’ll ask him before the match if he really thinks that they only have a 1 percent chance. He thinks he has more than that, just as we don’t think that we have only a 99 percent chance. We know that we have an advantage, and we have to make the most of it.”
Guardiola later said he lied a bit when he talked about the 1 percent, and that he knows City’s chances of reversing the first-leg defeat are higher than that.
“You have to play an almost perfect game,” he said. “The result was not so good, we usually come into the second leg with a better result, so it is not the perfect situation. We have to attack, we have to score goals. We want to win, so let’s see if we can adjust some things that didn’t work in the first leg.”
Ancelotti said he was not one of those coaches who liked to fully downplay his team’s advantage.
“It’s foolish to say that we will prepare for the game as if we were tied 0-0,” he said. “Nobody will believe you because it’s a fact that we scored three goals and City two. You can’t change that. We have to try to play the same way as we played a week ago, but without forgetting that we have an advantage.”
Guardiola has never failed in 16 seasons of coaching — four at Barcelona, three at Bayern and nine in Manchester — to take his team to the last 16. The 2012-13 season was the last time City did not play at that stage.
City have been struggling recently, though, and Guardiola said that has to be taken into consideration.
“This season the reality is we have been miles, miles away,” he said. “The results have been poor.”
Madrid got the better of City in the quarterfinals last year, and with a 3-1 win in extra time in the semifinals in 2022. Each time Ancelotti’s team went on to win the title, extending the club’s record to 15 Champions League trophies.
Ancelotti can count on central defender Antonio Rüdiger, who has recovered from the muscle injury that has kept him out in recent weeks. Against City last week, Ancelotti fielded an improvised back line who played together for the first time.
Ferland Mendy, youngster Raúl Asencio and midfielders Aurélien Tchouaméni and Federico Valverde played at the back in England.
Ancelotti said Rüdiger can start on Wednesday, though he didn’t say whether the central defender would replace Tchouaméni or the 22-year-old Asencio.
It is the fourth consecutive season in which the teams are facing each other in the Champions League, with City prevailing in the semifinals two seasons ago on their way to winning the European title for the first time.
Feyenoord knock out 10-man AC Milan to reach Champions League last 16
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- Julian Carranza thumped home the winning header in the 73rd minute
- Argentine attacker Carranza struck for Feyenoord shortly after coming on as substitute
MILAN: Feyenoord reached the last 16 of the Champions League on Tuesday after a 1-1 draw at 10-man AC Milan which took them past the seven-time kings of Europe 2-1 on aggregate.
Julian Carranza thumped home the winning header in the 73rd minute at a frigid San Siro, canceling out Santiago Gimenez’s first-minute opener for Milan and sending the Dutch through to meet either Inter Milan or Arsenal.
Argentine attacker Carranza struck for Feyenoord shortly after coming on as substitute as the away side pushed to reach the next round, while Milan struggled following Theo Hernandez’s sending off early in the second half.
Already on a booking for a needless foul on Anis Hadj-Moussa just before half-time, Hernandez was ruled by referee Szymon Marciniak to have dived in the penalty box when under pressure from Givairo Read.
The France full-back was dismissed, leaving Milan on the back foot after having dominated up to that point.
Hernandez’s sending off and Carranza’s tie-winning header ruined what looked to be Gimenez’s night when he nodded home the opener against his old team after just 36 seconds.
Mexico forward Gimenez has already scored three times for Milan since signing from Feyenoord during the winter transfer window but his sixth goal in the Champions League this season was also his last.
Sergio Conceicao’s Milan are by no means assured of a spot in next year’s tournament as they sit seventh in Serie A, five points off the top four with a game in hand.
Medvedev edges Khachanov in windy Qatar Open
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- Medvedev, who won the tournament in 2023, scored his first victory over a top-30 player in 2025
- In match of long rallies, Medvedev did not carve out a break point until the 12th game of the second set
DOHA: World No.6 Daniil Medvedev eliminated compatriot and defending champion Karen Khachanov 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 in the second round of the ATP Qatar Open on Tuesday.
Medvedev, who won the tournament in 2023, scored his first victory over a top-30 player in 2025.
Medvedev, the former world No.1, has not won a tournament since the Rome Masters in spring 2023. He was knocked out in the second round of this year’s Australian Open by teenage American Learner Tien.
In match of long rallies, Medvedev did not carve out a break point until the 12th game of the second set, by which time he was a set down. He took his chance and then went on attack in the third set to win in two hours 30 minutes.
A third Russian former champion, Andrey Rublev, the fifth seed, beat Alexander Bublik 6-3, 6-4.
Alex de Minaur celebrated his birthday by beating Russian Roman Safiullin 6-1, 7-5, even though the Australian did not enjoy the weather.
“They’re tough days, these ones,” said De Minaur. “It’s cold, it’s windy, you probably don’t want to get out of bed. But once you step on court, you have to do everything you can to win. Whether it’s ugly or pretty tennis, you just put the ball in the court, and that’s what I did today.”
“Out went any sort of tactics you had for the match and it was all about surviving more than anything.”
In the evening matches, Novak Djokovic was making his comeback against Matteo Berrettini after his Australian-Open semifinal injury.
Earlier in the day, Djokovic said that Andy Murray would continue as his coach “indefinitely.”
“I expressed my desire to continue the collaboration with him so I am really glad he did accept,” said Djokovic.