'There Is Also Corruption In England' - Russian Sports Minister Hits Back As World Cup 2018 Bidding War Heats Up

By Wayne Veysey in Moscow

Russia's sports minister today upped the ante in the battle to host the 2018 World Cup by claiming that corruption exists in England.

With less than three months before the secret ballot of Fifa’s executive committee in Zurich to determine the venue, Vitaly Mutko - a close colleague of prime minister Vladimir Putin - also accused England of being “disrespectful” of Russia’s ability to host the game’s showpiece event.

The basis for Mutko’s comments were the negatives stories in the western media about Russia’s bid, which have highlighted racism issues and how Russia’s football infrastructure compares unfavourably to its closest 2018 rival.

“Maybe we respect the English more than they respect us,” said Mutko, speaking at Moscow’s Luzhniki Stadium. “Of course, no-one should assess another country. As far as comparing bids I would like to emphasise that we greatly respect English football and the potential of this country.

“It’s just that in the media sometimes the Russia bid is mentioned. There is excessive attention on the Russia bid. Sometimes in the non-Russian media we read that there is also corruption in England and sometimes people also cross the street at the wrong place.”

Pressed to substantiate his corruption claims, Mutko elaborated: “I have never read about this in the Russian media. The Russian media really respect all countries. They have never analysed the life of a country so deeply. More frequently, they actually criticise us for our work.

“What I meant was that sometimes the English media say there is corruption in Russia but I meant that if you dig deeply you find corruption in any country. On the whole the life of any small city or town has something to do with that. There are no ideal situations.”

Mutko says he is bewildered why there has been so much focus in England on the negative aspects of Russia’s World Cup bid.

“I can find no reason for such dislike [in the British press] for the Russian bid. We highly respect England. As a confirmation of this, a Russian national TV channel has this year provided the rights to broadcast the English Premier League. This confirms we have a very warm attitude and respect to Britain.

“This is where football originated, although it was developed in Russia also. And we have great relations with [former FA chairman] Geoff Thompson."

Follow Goal.com on . Get the latest football news direct... Check out Goal.com's  page; be part of the best football fan community in the world!