AFP/Paris
Asia’s top Olympic official yesterday blasted accusations of corruption against Qatar’s 2022 World Cup campaign as being “racist” attacks on Arabs.
Qatar has vehemently denied all allegations of wrong-doing emphasising that it had won the 2022 vote fairly.
Britain’s Sunday Times set off a new controversy this week when it alleged that a former top Qatari football official paid more than $5mn to win support for the country’s bid.
Sheikh Ahmad al-Sabah, president of the Olympic Council of Asia and the Association of National Olympic Committees, strongly defended Qatar though.
The attacks were “racist actions towards Qatar and Arabs, revealing the malice of those parties in a way that has no justification,” the International Sporting Press Association quoted the Kuwaiti sheikh as saying.
“We will confront all such acts of racism and we will stand with Qatar so that no-one removes its right to organise the 2022 World Cup in Doha,” he added.
“I stand by my brothers in Qatar,” the Sheikh Ahmad declared.
A FIFA investigator, US lawyer Michael Garcia, met Qatari World Cup committee officials in Oman this week, a source close to the meetings said.
The first talks were on Wednesday and were to wrap up yesterday, the source told AFP.
Garcia is looking into whether there was corruption in the December 2010 FIFA executive vote that awarded the 2018 World Cup to Russia and the 2022 tournament to Qatar. He is to hand his report to a FIFA ethics committee on June 9, the day before the world body starts its annual congress in Sao Paulo.
Meanwhile, UEFA President and FIFA executive member Michel Platini, who voted for Qatar in 2010, told L’Equipe newspaper that if the corruption allegations were proven there should be a re-vote.
“If there is proof of corruption, it will take a new vote and sanctions,” Platini was quoted as saying.
Platini, a potential rival to FIFA president Sepp Blatter in an election next year, insisted he was not influenced by anyone to vote for Qatar.
Qatar keen on creating best working conditions
HE the Minister of Labour and Social Affairs Dr Abdullah Saleh Mubarak al-Khulaifi has affirmed that Qatar is seeking to develop its labour system and that it is keen on creating the best working conditions for all workers.
This came in the statement delivered by the minister during the discussions of the report of the International Labour Office Director General in the plenary session of the 103 to the International Labour Conference being held in Geneva from May 28 to June 12.
HE Dr al-Khulaifi pointed out that the amendments carried out by Qatar to its labour law regarding the wages protection are in the final stages, explaining that work is underway at the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs to make the necessary arrangements for the establishment of an office for the wages protection in addition to hiring and training staff for this purpose.
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