Report: FIFA VP Paid Millions By Qatari Firm After World Cup Vote

It's a good sign a sport's governance is seriously screwed up when a report emerges that a FIFA executive received millions of dollars from a Qatari soccer official after Qatar was awarded the World Cup, and everyone's first reaction isn't anger, but more along the lines of "no shit."

The blockbuster report in the cites documents showing payments totaling $2 million given to former FIFA vice president Jack Warner from a company owned by former Qatari FIFA executive Mohamed Bin Hammam.

The document is dated December 15, 2010, two weeks after Qatar won the right to host the tournament, and states that the money is "payable to Jack Warner".

Mr Warner's two sons and an employee were paid a further $1 million (£600,000) by the same Qatari company.

One document states that payments are to "offset legal and other expenses", but a separate letter claims that more than $1 million cover "professional services provided over the period 2005-2010".

Warner, the former president of CONCACAF, is no stranger to controversy. In 2011, the Trinidadian was accused of demanding cash and gifts from England's FA in exchange for his 2018 World Cup vote. Later that year, Warner was caught on tape urging Caribbean Football Union members to accept envelopes full of money to back Mohamed Bin Hammam's bid for FIFA president.

Bin Hammam was banned for life; Warner stepped down, putting him beyond the reach of any FIFA punishment. But the FBI is said to be investigating the Caribbean-based fraud (payments for which, according to the Telegraph, were routed through American banks). "It's shaping up to be a major case," one U.S. official told Reuters.

Despite the mess, there has been no serious suggestion that Qatar is in danger of losing the 2022 World Cup. Instead, FIFA is debating whether the tournament should be moved to the winter to spare players the intense summer heat. That decision has been pushed back a year; nothing in FIFA happens quickly without money greasing the wheels.

Qatar World Cup 2022 investigation: former Fifa vice-president Jack Warner and family paid millions [Telegraph]