FIFA Investigation Reportedly Won't Prompt Removal of 2022 World Cup from Qatar

Despite widespread allegations of internal corruption and concerns over potentially dangerous playing conditions, Qatar is not expected to be stripped of the 2022 World Cup.    

A report from Owen Gibson of The Guardian claims a FIFA ethics commission report, due out Thursday, will say there is no "smoking gun" tying either Qatar or 2018 host Russia to any behavior foul enough to strip them of the event. Instead, Russia and Qatar will be condemned alongside Australia and England for their attempts to thwart the investigation.

As noted by Gibson, the main culprits expected to be implicated on the report are no longer in the sport:

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Individuals who are no longer involved in football—including Jack Warner, Mohammed bin Hammam and Reynald Temarii–are expected to be criticised but the summary of the report does not at this stage name any other names. [...]

Nor is there believed to be a 'smoking gun' that links the behaviour of Mohammed bin Hammam, the Qatari former Asian Football Confederation president who was banned for life for offering bribes to officials during his challenge for the Fifa presidency, with the Qatar 2022 bid.

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Since being awarded the 2022 World Cup four years ago, Qatar has undergone widespread criticism for alleged payments of FIBA officials, deadly conditions for construction workers and potentially untenable heat for players. In September, FIFA Executive Committee member Theo Zwanziger said he did not believe Qatar would retain the World Cup.

"Medics say that they cannot accept responsibility with a World Cup taking place under these conditions," Zwanziger said, per Reuters. 

Kin Cheung/Associated Press

Robert Booth of The Guardian reported last year that up to 4,000 migrant workers may die in Qatar due to unlivable working conditions. The International Trade Union Confederation harshly criticized the government for importing workers and then forcing them into labor in sweltering heat—and at times withholding their pay.

FIFA's 18-month ethics investigation has largely been focused on the allegations of bribery, which would have allowed world football's governing body to strip Qatar and award the World Cup to another country.

It is unclear at this time how FIFA plans to make Qatar a viable option for players and spectators.

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