A few days before the start of the Qatar 2022 World Cup, new revelations come out from the Swiss media, according to which Qatar has orchestrated a large-scale and long-lasting intelligence operation against the governing body of football Fifa, according to as reported by the Swiss Srf. The goal of these efforts was to prevent Qatar from being deprived of the World Cup after FIFA awarded the tournament to the country in 2010, Srf said which further states that the operation included a company run by a former CIA official. and extended across several continents.
Qatari representatives did not comment on the matter questioned by the dpa. Joseph Blatter, the president of FIFA when Qatar was chosen to host the World Cup, said he was “surprised” to see these rumors about an alleged spy affair. “That there was an organized espionage affair in Fifa, this surprised me. And it’s alarming, ”Blatter told Srf. Several documents show that Blatter, who was FIFA president until 2015, was of great interest to spies, the report said. However, it is unclear whether he was spied on after all.
Another target of this operation was Theo Zwanziger, president of the German football federation (Dfb) until 2012, member of the executive committee of FIFA until 2015 and very critical of Qatar. According to the survey, Qatar wanted to stop his comments, such as when he called the country the “cancer of world football” and a network was built around Zwanziger, made up of people who were supposed to influence him to the advantage of Qatar. “There were a number of people who guided me in that direction. Obviously, this was in Qatar’s interest, ”Zwanziger told Srf, comparing the methods with brainwashing. “What they underestimated, however, is that I didn’t give up my opinion in the process. This award was – as I have already said – a cancer of world football “, he added, inviting the current FIFA president Gianni Infantino to act, but said that” he will not, of course, because he is a vassal of Qatar “. Infantino did not comment.