- The English Football Association has been accused of flouting bidding rules in its attempt to stage the 2018 World Cup - but 2022 hosts Qatar have been cleared of corruption allegations. A Fifa report says the FA behaved improperly when trying to win the backing of a key voter.
Qatar faced a number of claims surrounding its bid, but the Gulf state is now in the clear.
In effect, Fifa's long-awaited report ends talk of a re-vote.
In a statement, football's world governing body acknowledged the work of the inquiry and thanked those who had co-operated with it.
It also welcomed the fact that "a degree of closure has been reached".
The news that the FA has come in for criticism is a surprise given that it has repeatedly called for transparency in the voting process and accused Fifa of not doing enough to stamp out corruption.
The FA is accused of trying to "curry favour" with former Fifa vice-president Jack Warner, who quit his role in 2011 amid bribery allegations.
Individuals involved in England's bid could now face action following the conclusion of the two-year inquiry, which was led by American lawyer Michael Garcia.
Fifa's report, which also looks at the conduct of other bidding nations for both the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, makes a number of damaging points about the conduct of England bid officials.
In particular, it says England's bid team tried to win the support of Warner, who is from Trinidad & Tobago, by:
Trying to help "a person of interest to him" find a part time job in the United Kingdom
Letting the Trinidad and Tobago Under-20 squad hold a training camp in the UK in the summer of 2009
Sponsoring a gala dinner for the Caribbean Football Union, at a cost of $55,000, around £35,000
In the 42-page report, Hans Joachim Eckert, Fifa's independent ethics adjudicator, writes that England's bid team "showed a willingness, time and again" to meet Warner's expectations.
By doing so, it damaged "the image of Fifa and the bidding process".
The inquiry looked at the conduct of all nine bidding teams who were trying to win the right to stage either the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.
It was initiated after a number of corruption allegations were made once voting had taken place in 2010.
Credit: The BBC
World Cup inquiry clears Qatar of corruption, criticises English FA
The BBC
Football
2 minutes read
