GENEVA
Russia and Qatar could lose their FIFA World Cup hosting rights should allegations of corruption in the bidding process be verified, Domenico Scala, the head of FIFA's audit and compliance committee told a Swiss newspaper.
Russia and Qatar were each awarded with World Cup hosting rights in 2018 and 2022 respectively.
"If evidence should emerge that the awards to Qatar and Russia only came about thanks to bought votes then the awards could be invalidated," Domenico Scala told SonntagsZeitung on Sunday. "This evidence has not yet been brought forth."
The U.S. Department of Justice recently indicted 14 individuals on charges of racketeering, wire fraud and money laundering that involved the world's football governing body.
The investigation concerns the bidding processes for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups hosting rights.
Seven of those were arrested in Zurich and are awaiting extradition to the U.S. Four others had already been charged.
The case has sent shockwaves across the world, forcing longtime FIFA head Sepp Blatter to announce his resignation Tuesday night four days after being re-elected.
