Qatar hits back at English football chief Dyke

Qatar's Football Association (QFA) hit back Wednesday at English football boss Greg Dyke's claims that the organisers of the 2022 World Cup should be nervous following the resignation of FIFA boss Sepp Blatter.

A statement on behalf of QFA president Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Bin Ahmed Al-Thani told Dyke that Qatar had nothing to hide over its controversial bid and urged him to make good on his pledge of trying to build an England team capable of winning the tournament.

"Mr Dyke's instinct to immediately focus on stripping Qatar of the World Cup speaks volumes on his views concerning what will be the first FIFA World Cup to take place in the Middle East," read the statement.

"Having already co-operated fully with Mr. Garcia's investigation -- and been subsequently cleared of any wrong-doing -- we welcome the Office of the Swiss Attorney General conducting its own work into the bidding process for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.

"We would urge Mr Dyke to let the legal process take its course and concentrate on delivering his promise to build an England team capable of winning the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar."

The QFA was responding to remarks made by Dyke immediately after the dramatic resignation of Blatter on Tuesday.

Speaking on British television, Dyke said: "If I was in Qatar I wouldn't be very confident."

He added that Blatter's reaction to an article alleging corruption in Qatar's controversial bid in the British press turned him against the outgoing FIFA president.

"I got very upset with Blatter a year ago after an excellent article in the Sunday Times regarding the awarding of the World Cup to Qatar," said Dyke.

"He dismissed it as just being racist.

"I found that offensive and it was then with (Dutch FA president and who withdrew from the presidential race the week before the election) Michael van Praag that we formed a platform against him."

There has yet to be any formal response from the organisers of Qatar's World Cup regarding the resignation of Blatter.

Last year an investigation headed by US lawyer Michael Garcia into the awarding of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups cleared Qatar. The full report has never been released.

Dyke has publicly stated it is his ambition that England win the 2022 World Cup despite the national team failing to win the tournament in almost 50 years, since its only success at home in 1966.
Source: AFP