Qatar 2022 decision ‘ludicrous’, says Gary Lineker

Gary Lineker has claimed he feels sick at alleged corruption within Fifa and labelled the decision to play the 2022 World Cup in Qatar as "ludicrous".

Lineker was part of England’s bid team for the 2018 tournament awarded to Russia and says England should not bid again if the only way to win is by bending the rules.

In an interview with GQ magazine, the former England striker said: "I was with David Beckham having a burger the night before the Qatar decision. We were out trying to get support; Prince William and David Cameron were out there, too, and I said to Becks: 'We are the only country doing this. The whole thing smells; it is a done deal.'

"It makes you feel sick, actually, the whole Fifa thing. The corruption at the top level is nauseating. Sepp Blatter likewise has run it like a dictatorship for so long and he comes out with so much nonsense."

On the decision to stage the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, Lineker, a top BBC sport presenter, said: “Ludicrous. I am not against it going to different parts of the world but you’d have thought they might have known it would be very hot in summer . . . the corruption is just . . . yuk.”