London newspaper The Sunday Times blew the Qatar 2022 scandal wide open when it claimed a senior FIFA insider had provided "hundreds of millions of emails, accounts and other documents" detailing payments totalling $5 million (£3 million/€3.6 million) that Mohamed Bin Hammam had allegedly given to officials to build support for Qatar's 2022 bid to host the flagship tournament.

It quoted documents claiming to show Bin Hammam worked with then OFC head Temarii to crush Australia's chances of winning the bidding race and that Qatar paid at least $416,200 (£247,500/€305,000) in legal and private detective fees for Temarii after he was suspended for telling undercover reporters he had been offered $12 million (£7 million/€9 million) for his vote.

Although admitting Bin Hammam paid the legal fees, Temarii fiercely denies that his bank account handled "even one cent" of the money, adding he never discussed a deal to vote for Qatar during his communications with Bin Hammam.

"In February 2011, two months after the vote was awarded to Qatar 2022, I asked him [Bin Hammam] to assist me financially in order for me to hire specialists to fight the Sunday Times," Temarii told New Zealand's Sunday Star-Times.

"And he did it in February.

"All his financial support goes to my lawyer and her partners.

"I did not touch even one cent in my bank account.

"I never have had the intention to vote for Qatar 2022.

"I never have had any deal or agreement with Mohamed Bin Hammam related to Qatar 2022 or his candidacy for FIFA President [in] 2011."

Temarii claimsFIFA and the OFC have documents which show his vote going to Australia.

"On October 6-7, 2010, the OFC Executive Committee met in Tonga," he said.

"Eight Presidents of members associations took part.

"We proceeded to an internal vote in order for me to be mandated by my Confederation.

"It was not a secret ballot."

Top FIFA sponsors have begun to speak about about the World Cup bidding process with adidas saying that the "negative tenor" surrounding the tournament is not good for football, FIFA or its partners ©Getty Images



Temarii's defence comes as some of FIFA's top sponsors begin to call for an "appropriate investigation" into claims of wrongdoing during the bidding process.

In a statement published by The Sunday Times, Sony said it wanted an investigation into how Qatar won the rights to host football's biggest event.

"As a FIFA partner, we expect these allegations to be investigated appropriately," the company said.

"We continue to expect FIFA to adhere to its principles of integrity, ethics and fair play across all aspects of its operations."

Adidas, which has a long-term sponsorship deal with FIFA that runs until 2030, added in a statement: "The negative tenor of the public debate around FIFA at the moment is neither good for football nor for FIFA and its partners."

Franz Beckenbauer has also been pulled into the corruption scandal as reports link him to possible talks with Qatar over the World Cup bid while an ambassador for ER Capital Holding ©Getty Images



In its latest revelation, the newspaper claimed Bin Hammam had used his contacts to arrange Government-level talks to arrange a bilateral natural gas deal that would have been "potentially worth millions of dollars to Thailand".

It also claims it has documents showing that Bin Hammam was invited to meet with then-Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin in 2010 to discuss "bilateral relations in sport" just weeks before Russia and Qatar were awarded the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, respectively.

The report also involves German football legend Franz Beckenbauer in the scandal, along with UEFA President Michel Platini.

According to the report, Beckenbauer was invited to Doha along with executives from shipping and energy company ER Capital Holding to talk about a possible cooperation between Qatar and the maritime shipping industry, but no deal had been struck at the time.

Beckenbauer, who, in 2010, sat on the FIFA Executive Committee that voted for Qatar to host the World Cup said he "never worked for Qatar or Bin Hammam", however, the company confirmed to the DPA news agency that the former footballer and coach worked for ER Capital Holding from April 2011 to March 2014 as a consultant and ambassador.

The newspaper also claimed Bin Hammam had arranged an October 2010 meeting for Platini with Qatar's Bid Committee in the Swiss city of Nyon.

Platini subsequently slammed The Sunday Times, saying the newspaper was trying to "tarnish" his reputation.

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