FIFA hopes its investigation into claims by a senior British official that Spain is trying to bribe World Cup referees will be concluded before the tournament begins. FIFA General Secretary Jerome Valcke said Tuesday he wanted “something definitive” before the June 11 kickoff. Valcke said it was good that former English Football Association head David Triesman's comments emerged before matches began. “It gives us time to make sure that all of this is wrong and that they are crazy allegations,” he said. However, Valcke confirmed FIFA's Ethics Committee will examine the substance of Triesman's claims, as well as the possibility he broke World Cup bidding rules by criticizing rival candidates. “Now we are waiting for statements,” Valcke said. “The Ethics Committee will decide which persons they want to hear and to convoke.” He suggested that the report could be completed as soon as “the next few days.” “We will do it as soon as we can and not waste any time,” Valcke said. Triesman quit Sunday after being secretly tape-recorded by a tabloid newspaper suggesting Russia was going to help Spain bribe World Cup referees in return for support in the race to host the 2018 Finals. Triesman was supported Tuesday by Michel Platini, president of European governing body UEFA and a member of FIFA's executive committee which will pick the winning bids. “I have a good friendship with (David) Triesman and I want to help him in his bad moment,” Platini told Britain's Press Association agency. Speaking on the sidelines of a meeting of FIFA's football rules-making panel, he said the England bid campaign was damaged but not finished. “England is a great country and, of course, it can recover and survive this,” Platini said. That view was shared by London 2012 Olympics chief Sebastian Coe. “It is a strong bid. It will survive,” said Coe, who is on the board of the 2018 bid team. “This has been a traumatic thing to have happened but the foundation stones of a good bid are in place. This is not having to change plans, ripping up a bid book. “This is about continuing to present the bid and let the majority of the members know the quality of the bid and our thinking. Not very much has altered.” Extra linesmen experiment Soccer's experiment with two extra linesman behind the goals is to continue for another two years and will be extended beyond Europe, the sport's rule-making body said Tuesday. The new system, backed by UEFA President Michel Platini, was used in this year's Europa League and the International Football Association Board (IFAB) said Tuesday that, although there were positive aspects, it needed further testing. It is the only significant proposal on the table at present to help referees after the IFAB ruled out the use of goal line technology at a meeting in February. Valcke said all six continental confederations would be invited to use the experiment.
