FIFA exec: ‘They lied to Frank’s face’
AFTER decades in business, Football Federation Australia (FFA) chairman Frank Lowy knows that not everything goes to plan, but renowned for his integrity and honesty, he isn’t used to betrayal and lies.
Prior to the FIFA executive committee vote to decide the host of the 2022 World Cup last week, Lowy and the Australian bid team were led to believe they had more than six votes, enough to survive the first round of voting – they received only one.
Football consultant Peter Hargitay, previously an adviser to FIFA president Sepp Blatter, was the consultant hired to see Australia through the bidding process, and said some executive members lied to the bid team only hours before voting.
“What can you do if people lie to your face? They lied to Frank’s [Lowy] face,” he said, speaking to The World Game on SBS.
Hargitay said even after Qatar was announced as the winner, the lies continued. “After the vote, we were told by two people they were the only ones who voted for us. One of the two was fibbing.
The other four or five who shook hands with the [FFA] chairman [Lowy], and who were entirely and totally credible and reconfirmed their position before they went into the vote, vanished.
“The chairman knows how to deal with people and how to do business.
“You’re dealing with a special type of person who will shake your hand and look into your eye at five o’clock on the afternoon of the day before voting and say ‘I’m with you.’”
After the vote, Lowy was left looking for answers after the vote. “People told us one thing and another happened. I was not expecting this,” he said.
The FFA chairman put in thousands of hours towards this bid and personally lobbied members of the executive.
“It has been a very difficult ride, very emotionally driven and I would have liked to deliver for Australia.
“I think we lost the icing on the cake and I was hoping to have it.”
Prime Minister Julia Gillard, Opposition Leader Tony Abbott and Sports Minister Mark Arbib have all thanked Lowy for his efforts during the unsuccessful bid, which cost the Federal Government $46 million.
We might never know what went wrong, but what we do know is that after two-and-a-half years of hard work and sleepless nights for Lowy, Australia will not host the 2022 World Cup.
Australia had the best bid for 2022 and we have proved we are capable of hosting a major event – it was only 10 years ago that we hosted the Olympics.
The lesson from this experience is that it isn’t always the best bid that wins the rights.
It’s about politics. So next time we bid for a World Cup, which won’t be until 2034 if not later, we need to learn to play the game.
JOSHUA LEVI
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