18 Nov 2010

BBC unpatriotic says England Football World Cup bid head

6:45 pm on 18 November 2010

The head of England's 2018 Football World Cup bid has attacked the BBC as unpatriotic for plans to air a documentary on FIFA corruption just days before the critical vote.

Bid organisers have already written to members of FIFA's 24-strong executive committee to distance themselves from British media reports, which alleged officials had offered their votes for cash.

However England 2018 officials are incensed by the BBC's decision to screen an edition of its Panorama programme three days before the World Cup vote in Zurich.

The programme is believed to focus on allegations of corruption which are nearly a decade old relating to FIFA's former marketing partner ISL.

England, Russia and joint bids by Spain-Portugal and Netherlands-Belgium are in the running to host the 2018 World Cup, with Australia, the United States, Japan, Qatar, Russia and South Korea in contention for 2022.