Former UEFA President and worldwide soccer superstar Michel Platini was today arrested for alleged corruption of the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
The World Cup, which controversially saw the hosting rights awarded to Qatar in 2010, has come under much scrutiny for this decision leading many to believe that something sinister was going on behind the scenes.
Now seems an unusual time for the story to rise from the ashes back into the limelight. But reports have emerged that there was a meeting between Platini, UEFA officials and Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, Crown Prince of Qatar.
The meeting took place a mere ten days prior to the ballot which saw the Middle Eastern country win the hosting rights.
Something else to take into account, however, was that the meeting was used to oversee the Qatari overtake of French football powerhouse Paris Saint-Germain. The deal was made official only a few months later.
It’s more than possible that the meeting was purely to discuss the deal and nothing else. But the timing seems too much of a coincidence to not think about.
Some on social media seem to be of this belief.
They need to start investigating the links between Platini, Qatar and PSG, can't be coincidental that PSG received all that investment and the takeover less than a year after Qatar was awarded the World Cup
— James (@jamess_c9) June 18, 2019
So Platini has been arrested in relation to skullduggery surrounding the Qatari WC, the same fund that runs PSG who got off the FFP hook lightly at a point when his son was working for them…not before time!
— Dr J Gorski-Mescir 🇪🇺 #FBPE/GTTO (@Fydsy) June 18, 2019
It’s extremely plausible that discussions were held to see Qatar hold the World Cup, in a manner that would not necessarily be legal.
Perhaps it was part of the deal involving PSG. Qatar agrees to purchase the biggest club in France’s capital, in exchange for the hosting rights for the next World Cup.
Platini denies corruption when it comes to the vote. Sarkozy wanted the WC to go to Qatar, and shortly after it did – they bought PSG, broadcaster Bein Sports invested in Ligue Un and there were big questions asked about our friend Sarkozy https://t.co/Yng4zKSU1S
— Gavin Cooney (@gcooney93) June 18, 2019
It’s a win-win. Qatar win as they get to host the largest sporting event in the world and take over a very successful football club. Plus, with the amount of money they make, an investment like that wouldn’t have set them back too much.
France win as they get to see an already strong club become even stronger and they make enough money to retire on. All they need to do is pull a few strings and everything will be in motion.
Regardless of what actually took place in 2010 and whether Platini, Sepp Blatter and co. orchestrated all this, Platini’s arrest is another interesting factor in a story that has garnered so much interest and will continue to do so until the tournament begins.
Corruption. Promises. Broken promises. Human rights. This story has everything. But if one thing’s for certain, up until the first match in 2022, Qatar’s hosting of the World Cup will be questioned like no other tournament before it. Even more so than Russia in 2018.