A BBC Panorama documentary being broadcast on Monday night claims that Qatar spent a massive £117million on their successful bid to host the 2022 World Cup,
The evidence came from Lord Triesman, the former FA chairman and leader of England’s doomed 2018 bid until forced to resign from both positions following a female civil servant tape-recording unproven allegations he made about Spain and Russia attempting to bribe referees.
Triesman tells Panorama that the Qatar figure – almost six times what England spent on their 2018 campaign – came from contacts close to British intelligence.
Triesman said: ‘I was told by two sources that have always been very reliable with good information, good intelligence that the sum Qatar spent on their bid was £117m.’
Qatar’s bid chairman did not respond to the claims by the Panorama programme ‘FIFA, Sepp Blatter and Me’ made by veteran investigative reporter Andrew Jennings
Lord Triesman added: ‘I take the straightforward view that it should be possible when you look at the money that people have spent to know exactly how it was spent and whether it was legitimate or not.’
