Qatari organisers of the 2022 World Cup have denied accusations that their successful bid was corrupt, saying their lawyers are looking into the claims made by a British newspaper.

The Sunday Times said it had obtained millions of emails, accounts, and secret documents, proving that Mohamed Bin Hammam, a Qatari who used to be FIFA vice president, made payments totalling around $5 million to football officials. The Qatar 2022 World Cup organizing committee denied the allegations. It stressed that Bin Hammam played no official or unofficial role in the bid committee. The report has revived calls for the 2022 World Cup vote to be re-done.

In 2010, Qatar beat off bids from the US, Australia, Japan, and South Korea, despite that FIFA officials said the dessert heat there is not conducive to staging the event. FIFA is already conducting a long-running inquiry into the allegations.

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