World Cup: Lord Triesman says Europe should threaten FIFA with boycott of event
Friday 21 November 2014 19:05, UK
Football's European governing bodies should threaten to leave FIFA if its World Cup bidding process is not cleaned up, says Lord Triesman.
Triesman, initially chairman of England's 2018 bid, accused Sepp Blatter's organisation of behaving like a "rogue state" and insisted he wanted to speak to investigator Michael Garcia "all the way through the [investigative] process" despite having been criticised in the report for failing to co-operate.
The former FA chairman pulled no punches though when discussing the conduct of FIFA and its role in the bidding for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups and what UEFA should do.
Triesman told Sky Sports News HQ: "David Bernstein [another ex-FA chairman] has been saying Europe should get its act together and I think he's got extremely strong points and I support him.
"There is a moment when Michel Platini [UEFA chief] and the UEFA people - who have got a much much better record than FIFA - should be saying if you want the Europeans invloved in this world sport it has to be a clean sport and run in a transparent way and that standards that are exacting."
When asked if Europe's stance should go as far as a boycott and withdrawing from tournaments like the World Cup, Triesman added: "I think we shoud begin the process that unless this becomes a clean and transparent process now that is exactly what we are going to do."
On the prospect of the 2018 hosts agreeing to such drastic action, Triesman said: "I think Russia will resist it but the fact is that the most powerful of all continental football groups is in a position to influence it, as are the major sponsors and until FIFA is confronted by that it will never change.
"No one wants to deprive anybody of the right to play in a World Cup but what we want is a clean sport run in a proper and transparent way.
"Everybody will understand the process of putting pressure on to get the right outcome and with a bit of good fortune I believe we would get the right outcome and then everybody could play in the World Cup."
Garcia has now agreed to allow the head of FIFA's Audit and Compliance Committee, Domenico Scala to access all of his findings. Scala will then decide whether the full investigation is passed on to FIFA’s Executive Committee.
