FBI調查年及2022年世界盃合法性

The FBI is investigating how Russia and Qatar were awarded the 2018 and 2022 World Cup tournaments as part of its expansive probe into corruption at Fifa, people with knowledge of the investigation said. The probe is likely to intensify doubts over whether the two countries should host the competition.

知情人士透露，美國聯邦調查局(FBI)正在調查俄羅斯和卡塔爾被授予2018年和2022年世界盃(World Cup)主辦權的過程。此舉是該局全面調查國際足聯(Fifa)腐敗問題的一部分。（另據報道，根據一份最新公開的報告，前國際足聯官員Chuck Blazer在2013年接受FBI調查時，曾承認與其他國際足聯官員在2010年南非世界盃的申辦過程中接受賄賂。編者注）此次調查很可能會加劇人們對這兩個國家是否應該主辦世界盃的質疑。

Qatar and Russia remained defiant yesterday even as critics across the world used the resignation of Fifa boss Sepp Blater to call for the stripping of their rights to hold the countries had taken comfort from the summary findings of the report by Fifa’s US investigator Michael Garcia, who last year concluded that allegations of wrongdoing in the award of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups were of “very limited scope”s prosecutors announced their own probe into the Qatar and Russia bids last week and said they would co-operate with the US authorities.

卡塔爾和俄羅斯昨日依然態度強硬，儘管世界各地的評論人士利用國際足聯主席塞普?布拉特(Sepp Blatter)辭職一事呼籲剝奪這兩個國家的主辦權。此前，國際足聯美國調查員邁克爾?加西亞(Michael Garcia)出具的調查報告得出的結論曾令這兩個國家感到安心。加西亞去年得出結論稱，2018年和2022年世界盃主辦權授予過程中存在不當行爲的嫌疑“極爲有限”。瑞士檢方上週宣佈，他們要對卡塔爾和俄羅斯申辦過程展開自己的調查，並表示將與美國當局合作。

Qatar’s young leader, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, has made hosting of the World Cup a central plank of his leadership, along with development of social infrastructure and promotion of nationals in the workplace. The collective loss of face resulting from possibly losing the tournament is uniting nationals and expatriates behind the bid, which comes with infrastructure investment worth an estimated $ social media comment summed up many Doha residents’ response: “No evidence of any wrongdoing and already talking about Qatar being stripped of WC? Racist vulture bastards.”

卡塔爾年輕的領導人謝赫?塔米姆?本?哈馬德?阿勒薩尼(Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani)曾將主辦世界盃作爲他任內的核心工作之一，另外他還承諾要發展社會基礎設施，以及讓國民在職場中得到更多的機會。面對可能失去主辦權的結果帶來的合計損失，卡塔爾國民和在該國工作的外籍人士正團結起來支持卡塔爾的立場。卡塔爾世界盃的基礎設施投資估計在1000億美元。一條社交媒體評論總結了許多多哈民衆的反應：“還沒有證據表明存在任何不當行爲，就已在討論剝奪卡塔爾的世界盃主辦權？你們這些趁火打劫的種族主義混蛋。”

Sheikh Hamad al-Thani, president of the Qatar Football Association, lashed out at critical comments by Greg Dyke, his UK counterpart. “We would urge Mr Dyke to let the legal process take its course and concentrate on delivering his promise to build an England team capable of winning the 2022 Fifa World Cup in Qatar,” he Moscow Dmitry Peskov, spokesman for Russian president Vladimir Putin, refused to respond to threats of stripping the country of the tournament. “The main thing is that Russia continues its preparations?.?.?.? All the plans are being implemented.”The Russian World Cup organising committee yesterday held a previously scheduled meeting in the southern city of Rostov-on-Don, with committee members, led by first deputy prime minister Igor Shuvalov, inspecting World Cup preparations. “It is a challenging time for football. Whatever happens we must continue the preparations for the World Cup,” Mr Shuvalov ny Dzichkovsky, of the Russian Football Union, said that if evidence of corruption relating to the 2018 bid were found, Russia should not be stripped of the tournament. “Even if something is found, it is not the country which is guilty, it is individual people,” he r’s World Cup organising committee likewise insisted there is no “smoking gun” linking the Qatari government to any corruption, even though they accept there are allegations of bribery against Mohammed bin Hammam, the Qatari former Fifa executive committee member. The committee argues that any malfeasance was not sanctioned by the state on behalf of its zerland’s attorney-general last week announced criminal proceedings “on suspicion of criminal mismanagement and of money laundering” linked to the award of the tournaments, and said it had seized electronic data and documents from Fifa’s Zurich headquarters. As part of that investigation, the Swiss police and the attorney-general will question 10 members of the Fifa executive committee who took part in the vote for Russia and Qatar in 2010.

卡塔爾足協(Qatar Football Association)主席謝赫?哈馬德?阿勒薩尼(Sheikh Hamad al-Thani)抨擊了其英國同行格雷格?戴克(Greg Dyke)發表的批評性言論。阿勒薩尼說：“我們敦促戴克允許法律程序自然而然地展開，並集中精力兌現他自己的諾言，建立一支能贏得2022年卡塔爾世界盃的英格蘭隊。”在莫斯科，俄羅斯總統弗拉基米爾?普京(Vladimir Putin)的發言人德米特里?佩斯科夫(Dmitry Peskov)不願迴應有關剝奪俄世界盃主辦權的威脅。“最主要的是，俄羅斯將繼續做好準備……所有計劃都在實施中。”俄羅斯世界盃組委會昨天在頓河畔的南部城市羅斯托夫按計劃召開會議，委員們在俄第一副總理伊戈爾?舒瓦洛夫(Igor Shuvalov)的帶領下檢查了世界盃籌備工作。舒瓦洛夫說：“眼下足球運動面臨着挑戰。不管發生什麼，我們都必須繼續籌辦世界盃。”俄羅斯足協(Russian Football Union)的葉夫根尼?濟奇科夫斯基(Evgeny Dzichkovsky)表示，即使發現有關2018年世界盃申辦存在腐敗的證據，也不應剝奪俄的主辦權。他說：“就算髮現了什麼，有罪的也不是這個國家，而是個別人。”卡塔爾世界盃組委會也堅稱沒有“確鑿證據”證明卡塔爾政府與任何腐敗行爲有關，儘管他們承認有人指控來自卡塔爾的前國際足聯執委會委員默罕默德?本?哈馬姆(Mohammed bin Hammam)涉嫌賄賂。卡塔爾世界盃組委會辯稱，該國禁止任何人在代表該國申辦世界盃的過程中搞不當行爲。瑞士司法部上週宣佈，對世界盃主辦權授予過程中“涉嫌存在的涉及犯罪的管理不善和洗錢”提起刑事訴訟，還表示已從國際足聯蘇黎世總部查扣相關電子數據和文件。作爲這項調查的一部分，瑞士警方和司法部將對10名在2010年參與俄羅斯和卡塔爾世界盃主辦權表決投票的國際足聯執委會委員展開問訊。

Investigators say the ability to discover new evidence as suspects are interrogated and financial transactions in the US and Switzerland are traced could blow the lid on any secrets that have so far remained hidden.“There is bound to be more to come out of this once the FBI get their teeth into the Fifa officials,” said an investigator. “Can Qatar’s defence hold water — I don’t know.”

調查人員表示，隨着嫌疑人接受審訊以及在美國和瑞士的金融交易得到追蹤，發現新證據的能力可能會讓所有迄今仍未公開的祕密曝光。“一旦FBI開始全面調查國際足聯官員，肯定會有更多隱情浮出水面。”一名調查人員表示，“卡塔爾方面的辯解能否站得住腳？我不知道。”