A FIFA ethics judge has rebuked England and Australia over their failed World Cup bids, using harsher language than directed toward the winning bids from Russia and Qatar.
Judge Joachim Eckert found “potentially problematic facts and circumstances” in both bids but ruled they did not affect the integrity of the 2010 vote which gave the 2018 World Cup to Russia and the 2022 tournament to Qatar.
England received only two of the 22 votes in the 2018 election, while Australia received only one in the 2022 decision.
Eckert’s report criticized England’s attempts to woo Jack Warner, the former head of the North American soccer federation. England has been a vocal critic of Warner, FIFA and FIFA President Sepp Blatter since the vote.