FIFA to ask DOJ for information on 2018, 2022 WC host choice allegations

Zurich:The international governing body of football said on Tuesday it would ask the US Department of Justice for the information on the allegations of corruption against former FIFA officials concerning the choice of hosts for the World Cup in 2018 and in 2022.

Russia was the host in 2018, while Qatar is set to host the 2022 World Cup.According to FIFA's statement, senior officials of the organization are in contact with the US Department of Justice. FIFA supports all investigations on potential breaches of law in international or national football tournaments.

The indictment, unsealed by a federal US court in Brooklyn on Monday, charged Jack Warner, a former FIFA executive, and Rafael Salguero, a member of the FIFA executive committee, with taking respectively $5 million and $1 million in bribes for their votes in favor of Russia to host the 2018 World Cup.

Two other former FIFA executive committee members, Ricardo Teixeira and Nicolas Leoz, alongside an unnamed co-conspirator, allegedly received bribes for supporting Qatar's bid to host the 2022 games.

The Department of Justice also charged three media executives from 21st Century Fox and Spanish media firm Imagina as well as Uruguayan sports marketing company Full Play with money laundering for bribing Latin American football officials to secure lucrative broadcasting rights.