Claims of alleged bribery by Qatar ahead of opening World Cup clash with Ecuador

Opening match of 2022 World Cup sees hosts Qatar embarrassed by Ecuador

Image of Qatar World Cup sign. Credit: fifg/Shutterstock.com

The 2022 World Cup has been hit with match-fixing allegations ahead of the host nation Qatar’s match with Ecuador.

A shocking claim hit the World Cup today, today, Friday, November 18, before a ball has even been kicked. Arab journalist Amjad Taha, took to Twitter to claim that he had information about a suspected case of bribery in the opening match of the 2022 World Cup.

The tournament kicks off on Sunday 20 with the host nation playing Ecuador in the Al Khor Stadium at 11am US Eastern time.

Taha claimed to have received information from five Qatari and Ecuadorian experts about suspected match-fixing. He claimed that eight Ecuador players had been paid a total of $7.4 million dollars to throw the match by conceding a goal in the second half to give Qatar a 1-0 victory.

“Exclusive: Qatar bribed eight Ecuadorian players with $7.4 million dollars to lose the first game (1-0. 2nd half). Five Qatari and Ecuadorian experts confirmed this. We hope it’s fake. We hope that sharing this will affect the outcome. The world should oppose the corruption of FIFA”, read the post.

https://twitter.com/amjadt25/status/1593271354803032064?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1593271354803032064%7Ctwgr%5E8aa214092b360cbeb2a2339eac8961320deb48a8%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Flaopinion.com%2F2022%2F11%2F18%2Fqatar-2022-bajo-sospecha-se-revelo-un-presunto-caso-de-soborno-sobre-jugadores-ecuatorianos-para-la-inauguracion-de-la-copa-del-mundo%2F

Taha is also the regional director of the British Centre for US and Middle East Research. His claim has caused a lot of obvious worry among officials and social media platforms have been on fire all day with talk on the subject. FIFA has not yet commented on this hypothetical case, as reported by laopinion.com.

This news comes on the same day that a huge U-turn was announced on the sale of alcohol at matches during the tournament. According to the New York Times, an official not authorised to speak to the press told them that an official announcement was being prepared by Qatari authorities for release later today.

The question of alcohol sales has been an issue since the country was awarded the right to hold the tournament, with drinking tightly controlled and restricted in the Muslim country.

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Written by

Chris King

Originally from Wales, Chris spent years on the Costa del Sol before moving to the Algarve where he is a web reporter for The Euro Weekly News covering international and Spanish national news. Got a news story you want to share? Then get in touch at editorial@euroweeklynews.com

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