Russia to Remain 2018 World Cup Host Nation

by Stephen Lendman

Washington's war on FIFA is all about prohibiting Israel's suspension for violating Palestinian footballer rights and revoking Russia's right to remain 2018 World Cup host nation.

Israel wasn't suspended when Palestinians abandoned their expulsion bid at the 11th hour -  a disgraceful climbdown and then some. Washington's efforts to strip Russia of 2018 World Cup host nation rights so far failed but haven't ended.

On Wednesday, FIFA Secretary General Jerome Valcke said no violations were committed in awarding World Cup host nation rights to Russia and Qatar in 2018 and 2022 respectively.

"My team was the one running all the process for the World Cup 2018 and 2022, and all the bidding countries followed the rules…Nothing was big enough during the process, to say that the final decision was not in line with all the rules and regulations which are in place," Valcke explained.

On Monday, a FIFA statement said "no legal grounds" exist to revoke hosting rights for Russia and Qatar - "(b)ased on expert opinions and available facts."

"Russia and Qatar were awarded the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cups by democratic vote of the Executive Committee."

Taped conversations reported by The (UK) Sunday Times claimed a rigged FIFA process awarded the 2010 World Cup site to South Africa. Likely other host nation awards were tainted the same way.

Days earlier, FIFA indicated Russia would lose 2018 hosting rights if "evidence of bribery emerges." None exists even though dirty deal-making is common practice in sports and contractual negotiations in most all businesses. When big bucks are at stake, anything goes.

Rarely do bribery allegations surface whatever goes on behind closed doors. Don't expect Washington's anti-Russian campaign to slacken - including efforts to retract its 2018 hosting rights, maybe by inventing bribery allegations.

Whatever unsavory practices go on at FIFA, the International Olympic Committee (OIC), the NCAA, and other sports governing bodies, they're minor compared to annual billions of dollars of Wall Street grand theft - with no top-level executives held to account.

Attorney General Loretta Lynch blustered about "rampant, systemic and deep-rooted" FIFA corruption to justify DOJ's extrajudicial indictments of foreign nationals guilty of no crimes in America.

At the same time, the US Justice system largely ignores systemic public and private corruption and grand theft committed by high-level government and corporate officials.

Billions of dollars in campaign contributions alone constitute bribery by other means. Rigged financial markets create enormous ill-gotten wealth for big players - unprecedented criminality on the grandest of grand scales.

Accountability is virtually non-existent. Rare exceptions prove the rule. Mega-thieves are free to steal again.

A tainted political process assures dirty politicians get "reelected." FIFA corruption is being used as a weapon against Russia - so far without success.

Washington failed to sabotage the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics through an anti-Putin propaganda campaign. Don't bet against Russia besting US scheming again this time.

Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago. He can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.

His new book as editor and contributor is titled "Flashpoint in Ukraine: US Drive for Hegemony Risks WW III."

http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanIII.html

Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com.

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