Morocco on Sunday denied allegations made by former North American soccer chief Chuck Blazer that they offered bribes in order to secure the 1998 World Cup.
“Morocco denies categorically the slanderous accusations against members of the Moroccan bid committee. These allegations are aimed at tarnishing the image of a country that has always placed respect for the values of integrity and fairness among its founding principles,” said a statement from Morocco’s soccer federation, known by its French initials FRMF, according to state news agency MAP.
Blazer in court testimony released earlier this month said that he conspired with fellow FIFA executives to accept bribes during the process to choose hosts for the 1998 and 2010 World Cups.
The 1998 World Cup was eventually awarded to France, ahead of a bid by Morocco.
US authorities are investigating corruption at FIFA, soccer’s global governing body, while Swiss prosecutors have announced their own criminal inquiry into the 2018 and 2022 bids awarded to Russia and Qatar respectively.
France hosted the 1998 tournament, but US court documents contain prosecutors’ allegations that bidding nation Morocco paid a bribe to a FIFA executive Jack Warner of Trinidad and Tobago.
Warner has denied this and other charges against him, and has said he fears for his life, though he has also said he would tell investigators all he knows about corruption at FIFA.
Earlier this month, FIFA postponed the bidding for the right to host the 2026 World Cup and Swiss authorities took possession of computer data from the global soccer body that a source said included records from the office of its president.
The FBI are investigating bribery and corruption at FIFA, including scrutiny of how soccer’s governing body awarded World Cup hosting rights to Russia and Qatar.
Additional Reporting by AFP
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