Judge-led French probe starts into award of 2022 football World Cup to Qatar
In June 2019 Michel Platini, the former head of European football's governing body UEFA, was interviewed by police as a witness over the circumstances of the award of the 2022 football World Cup to Qatar. Two former colleagues of Nicolas Sarkozy were also questioned about a lunch hosted for Qatar's crown prince by the French president in 2010, attended by Platini, just days before the controversial vote to give the tournament to the oil and gas-rich state. Now the French financial crimes prosecution unit has launched a judicial investigation into the affair over alleged “corruption”, Mediapart has learnt. Former French football star Platini has strongly denied any wrongdoing. Yann Philippin and Antton Rouget report.
FranceFrance's financial crimes prosecution unit the Parquet national financier (PNF) has opened a judge-led investigation into “passive and active corruption” over the controversial decision by football's governing body FIFA to award the 2022 World Cup to Qatar, Mediapart has learned.
