The Hindu : Sport / Football : Accused Oceania chief to cooperate with FIFA probe

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Accused Oceania chief to cooperate with FIFA probe

WELLINGTON: The Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) on Monday pledged to fully cooperate with a FIFA probe into allegations its president offered to sell his vote in the bidding race for the 2018 World Cup.

World football's governing body launched the investigation after a British newspaper alleged it covertly filmed OFC President Reynald Temarii and Nigerian FIFA official Amos Adamu soliciting money in return for their votes.

“Reynald Temarii welcomes a full and thorough investigation so that all the facts can be heard,” the OFC said in a statement.

Britain's Sunday Times alleged Temarii, who is also a FIFA vice-president, wanted three million New Zealand dollars (US $2.3 million) to set up a sports academy in Auckland from undercover journalists posing as lobbyists.

It said Adamu, Nigeria's representative on FIFA's executive committee, demanded $800,000.

Temarii represents Tahiti and has headed the OFC since 2004.

New Zealand Prime Minister John Key, whose country is the largest OFC member, said he was concerned at the accusations levelled against the head of the Auckland-based body. “Whenever you get these kind of allegations, whether they're match-fixing or selling of votes it reflects badly on the sport and in that regard it's quite concerning,” Key told reporters.

Any deals during the bidding process for a World Cup are strictly forbidden under FIFA rules, but the Sunday Times said six senior officials, past and present, had told reporters that paying bribes offered the best chance of landing football's showcase tournament.

OFC Vice-President Fred de Jong conceded the allegations could damage football's reputation. “It's disappointing, there seem to be a lot of people just wanting to drag football's name through the dirt,” he told New Zealand's Radio Sport.

de Jong moved to distance his native New Zealand from the scandal, while also warning against jumping to conclusions about Temarii's alleged actions. “You have to understand his side of the story because at the moment I've only got one side of the story... New Zealand has no involvement in anything, it's an Oceania and FIFA matter.”

The head of Tonga's Football Federation, Ahongalu Fusimalohi, said under-cover reporters posing as lobbyists targeted him at a meeting at an Auckland hotel four weeks ago but he soon realised they were fake.

Fusimalohi said he played along with the reporters, discussing receiving a $100,000 board membership to support one country's bidders, in an attempt to discover what they were up to.

The nations in the running to host the 2018 World Cup are England, Russia, Spain, Portugal, Netherlands and Belgium. For 2022, the contenders are Qatar, Australia, the United States, Japan and South Korea. — AFP

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