Japanese World Cup bid chief Junji Ogura said Tuesday that some members of the FIFA executive committee felt racism triggered reports of bribery by the Sunday Times and the BBC, which turned votes against England’s bid for the 2018 tournament.
Ogura, who had one of 22 votes in Thursday’s voting for the hosts of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, said his peers at world soccer’s governing body even considered taking the Sunday Times to court, irate over the sting operation that saw Nigeria’s Amos Adamu and Reynald Temarii of Tahiti banned from the decision-making process.
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