UK minister blames Fifa for World Cup row
London, October 1, 2013
The controversy over moving the 2022 World Cup in Qatar from the summer to winter was a "mess" of Fifa's own making, British Sports Minister Hugh Robertson was quoted as saying.
Robertson said, in comments Britain's Press Association, that he saw no other option than moving the tournament to the winter to escape Qatar's summer heat.
"I don't think anybody in the world of football thinks a World Cup in Qatar in the summer is a sensible or deliverable option," Robertson told the Press Association.
"To that extent, this is a mess of Fifa's own making.
"I don't blame the Qataris at all - they wanted the World Cup and every country is entitled to have that ambition and they entered the bidding competition in the way suggested by Fifa. I entirely blame Fifa," he said.
he also urged Fifa to compensate those other countries who bid for 2022. "Fifa has to remember there are a series of other countries who bid for that 2022 World Cup in good faith and are now going to find the goal-posts have moved," he said.
"I think a deal should be done where the fact the Qataris won it fair and square is acknowledged but other nations who bid for 2022 are compensated in some shape or form, either financially or by hosting other Fifa tournaments," he said.
