LONDON — If there is enough evidence of wrongdoing, FIFA has the power to strip the World Cup from both Russia and Qatar. Soccer's governing body, currently engulfed in the worst corruption scandal in its 111-year history, has a provision which allows it to revoke hosting rights for “unforeseen contingencies and force majeure.” “If there is still evidence that a substantial amount (of votes) have been bought by illegal means, then of course it could be changed,” Swiss law professor and anti-corruption expert Mark Pieth told the Associated Press. “I would not totally rule it out, and of course there are many other questions linked to it.” So far, the Russians and Qataris don't seem to be worried. FIFA has been plunged into crisis since seven officials were arrested in dawn raids last week at a luxury Zurich hotel ahead of the FIFA congress. They were among 14 indicted by US authorities on corruption charges. In a separate probe, Swiss authorities are investigating the 2018 and 2022 World Cup bidding contests, which went to Russia and Qatar. In the wake of the two investigations, FIFA President Sepp Blatter announced his decision to resign. That came only four days after he was re-elected for a fifth, four-term. South Korea's Chung Mong-joon, a former FIFA vice president and possible candidate to replace Blatter, flew to Germany Friday for talks on the future of world football's crisis-ridden governing body. Chung, a billionaire scion of Korea's Hyundai group, said he would meet Michel Platini, head of the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), and other international football figures in Berlin for the Champions League final. There were also reports that the highest levels of South African government approved a $10 million dollar payment that US investigators suspect was a bribe to get the 2010 World Cup. Then president Thabo Mbeki and foreign minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma approved the payment which the authorities again insisted Friday was for a legitimate development project in the Caribbean. Blatter said Thursday he has already started working on ways to clean up the sport's governing body. Blatter tweeted a photo of himself sitting in a leather chair with a light blue jacket and no tie. “Working hard on reforms after meeting Audit & Compliance Committee Independent Chairman Scala,” Blatter wrote, along with a link to a statement released by FIFA. US authorities are also looking specifically at the 79-year-old Blatter, but he has not been formally charged. Russia was awarded the 2018 World Cup and Qatar was given the 2022 tournament in an executive committee vote in Zurich in December 2010. Accusations of vote-buying followed quickly, and FIFA appointed American lawyer Michael Garcia as the lead investigator into possible wrongdoing. Garcia submitted his report late last year, but soon resigned after a disagreement over what was in the file. Garcia's full report has never been released, but FIFA turned over the document to the Swiss authorities who are still investigating possible corruption. Several members on that 24-man executive committee have been largely discredited since the vote, including a life ban for Qatari official Mohammed Bin Hammam and some resignations and shorter bans for others. Besides the Swiss investigation, Australia has added to the pressure with its own police investigation. Australia was one of the losing bidders in the 2022 contest. The United States was another losing bidder in the vote for the 2022 tournament. Russia has spent much of its $12.4 billion budget, with three stadiums completed and nine more in the works. Qatar has five stadiums in progress and reportedly a $200 billion budget. The deciding factor on a revote, however, may still be in the hands of the investigators. “What would be awkward and could happen is that you have evidence two or three votes have been bought, and is that sufficient?” Pieth said. — AP
