Russia and Qatar have already been awarded the next two World Cups, but there remains a possibility that one or both nations could be stripped of their hosting rights.
A FIFA official said Sunday that Russia could lose the right to host the 2018 World Cup and Qatar the 2022 World Cup if evidence is found of corruption in the bidding process.
“If evidence exists that Qatar and Russia received the (World Cup) awards only thanks to bribes, then the awards could be annulled,” Domenico Scala said, via the AFP.
Scala added that no such evidence has been found yet, though bribery claims continue to mount against former FIFA vice president Jack Warner.
It’s worth noting that the United States, which is prosecuting several FIFA officials along with Switzerland, was also a finalist to host the 2022 World Cup.
As we mentioned before, one of FIFA president Sepp Blatter’s top lieutenants has been accused of helping to orchestrate a hefty bribe to assure that South Africa was awarded the 2010 World Cup. There are more than a few people who feel there was similar stuff going on with Russia’s and Qatar’s bids.
