Fifa is to interview a person who has information on Qatar's 2022 World Cup bid over allegations that bribes were paid to African voters, Sepp Blatter said.
The Fifa president said The Sunday Times, the British newspaper, has agreed to bring its source to meet senior Fifa officials, who must then decide whether to order a new investigation into alleged World Cup bidding corruption.
"[The Sunday Times] are happy, they agreed that they will bring this whistleblower here to Zurich and then we will have a discussion, an investigation of this," Blatter said.
The source claims that Fifa executive committee members Issa Hayatou and Jacques Anouma were paid $1.5 million (Dh5.5m) to vote for Qatar. The nation's bid beat the United States in a final round of voting last December.
Blatter did not rule out reopening the 2022 vote if corruption could be proved, but urged taking the matter "step by step".
The Fifa president said his organisation is "anxiously awaiting" more evidence before asking its ethics committee to examine allegations made in Britain's parliament last week.
Blatter said the situation must be "clarified" by May 27 - five days before Blatter stands for re-election against Qatari challenger Mohamed bin Hammam.
Bin Hammam played a central role in Qatar's victory to secure 2022 World Cup hosting rights.
Qatar's success has been called into question since The Sunday Times submitted claims to a British inquiry into football governance, which included England's failed bid to win 2018 hosting rights.
Legislators released claims by a former bid employee that Qatar agreed to pay members of Fifa's 24-man executive committee for their votes.
"It was said in such a way that 'we are giving it to you'," the source reportedly said. "It was going to their federation."
The source said Qatar agreed to pay a third African voter, Amos Adamu, for his support. The Nigerian was later suspended from voting after a Fifa ethics court ruled he solicited bribes from undercover Sunday Times reporters posing as lobbyists.
Blatter said the newspaper and the source would meet with Jerome Valcke, the Fifa secretary general, and Marco Villiger, the legal director.
All six Fifa voters placed under suspicion have denied wrongdoing.
Meanwhile, the English Football Association (FA) has comfirmed it will abstain in the vote between Blatter and bin Hammam to be Fifa president.
"The FA Board has today agreed to abstain in the vote for the presidency of Fifa," the FA said in a statement ahead of the June 1 vote.
"There are a well-reported range of issues both recent and current which, in the view of the FA board, make it difficult to support either candidate."
The FA board was shocked by Fifa's executive committee after being comprehensively beaten in the race to host the 2018 World Cup.
After attracting only two votes, one of them its own, FA officials and bid representatives said that potential voters had lied to them and that the voting system was flawed. Russia won the bid.
Blatter has branded the FA's decision to abstain as "strange".
Blatter queried the decision and said the FA's special Fifa privileges meant they had a responsibility to play a leading role in world football.
He said in an interview at Fifa headquarters in Zurich: "It is a bit strange when the number one association in the world – which is the FA – have two candidates to choose from and they cannot make a decision which one they support. It's strange."
MATCH INFO
Newcastle United 2 (Willems 25', Shelvey 88')
Manchester City 2 (Sterling 22', De Bruyne 82')
Basquiat in Abu Dhabi
One of Basquiat’s paintings, the vibrant Cabra (1981–82), now hangs in Louvre Abu Dhabi temporarily, on loan from the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi.
The latter museum is not open physically, but has assembled a collection and puts together a series of events called Talking Art, such as this discussion, moderated by writer Chaedria LaBouvier.
It's something of a Basquiat season in Abu Dhabi at the moment. Last week, The Radiant Child, a documentary on Basquiat was shown at Manarat Al Saadiyat, and tonight (April 18) the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi is throwing the re-creation of a party tonight, of the legendary Canal Zone party thrown in 1979, which epitomised the collaborative scene of the time. It was at Canal Zone that Basquiat met prominent members of the art world and moved from unknown graffiti artist into someone in the spotlight.
“We’ve invited local resident arists, we’ll have spray cans at the ready,” says curator Maisa Al Qassemi of the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi.
Guggenheim Abu Dhabi's Canal Zone Remix is at Manarat Al Saadiyat, Thursday April 18, from 8pm. Free entry to all. Basquiat's Cabra is on view at Louvre Abu Dhabi until October
La Mer lowdown
La Mer beach is open from 10am until midnight, daily, and is located in Jumeirah 1, well after Kite Beach. Some restaurants, like Cupagahwa, are open from 8am for breakfast; most others start at noon. At the time of writing, we noticed that signs for Vicolo, an Italian eatery, and Kaftan, a Turkish restaurant, indicated that these two restaurants will be open soon, most likely this month. Parking is available, as well as a Dh100 all-day valet option or a Dh50 valet service if you’re just stopping by for a few hours.
APPLE IPAD MINI (A17 PRO)
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Biometrics: Touch ID, Face ID
Colours: Blue, purple, space grey, starlight
In the box: iPad mini, USB-C cable, 20W USB-C power adapter
Price: From Dh2,099
Hotel Silence
Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir
Pushkin Press
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
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Business Insights
- As per the document, there are six filing options, including choosing to report on a realisation basis and transitional rules for pre-tax period gains or losses.
- SMEs with revenue below Dh3 million per annum can opt for transitional relief until 2026, treating them as having no taxable income.
- Larger entities have specific provisions for asset and liability movements, business restructuring, and handling foreign permanent establishments.
Stats at a glance:
Cost: 1.05 billion pounds (Dh 4.8 billion)
Number in service: 6
Complement 191 (space for up to 285)
Top speed: over 32 knots
Range: Over 7,000 nautical miles
Length 152.4 m
Displacement: 8,700 tonnes
Beam: 21.2 m
Draught: 7.4 m
The specs
Engine: 2.9-litre twin-turbo V6
Power: 540hp at 6,500rpm
Torque: 600Nm at 2,500rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Kerb weight: 1580kg
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RESULTS
Main card
Bantamweight 56.4kg: Mehdi Eljamari (MAR) beat Abrorbek Madiminbekov (UZB), Split points decision
Super heavyweight 94 kg: Adnan Mohammad (IRN) beat Mohammed Ajaraam (MAR), Split points decision
Lightweight 60kg: Zakaria Eljamari (UAE) beat Faridoon Alik Zai (AFG), RSC round 3
Light heavyweight 81.4kg: Taha Marrouni (MAR) beat Mahmood Amin (EGY), Unanimous points decision
Light welterweight 64.5kg: Siyovush Gulmamadov (TJK) beat Nouredine Samir (UAE), Unanimous points decision
Light heavyweight 81.4kg: Ilyass Habibali (UAE) beat Haroun Baka (ALG), KO second round
Avatar: Fire and Ash
Director: James Cameron
Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana
Rating: 4.5/5
INDIA SQUAD
Virat Kohli (capt), Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Vijay Shankar, MS Dhoni (wk), Kedar Jadhav, Dinesh Karthik, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami
