David Cameron and the CEO of the England 2018 World Cup bid have made it clear they would prefer the BBC (and The Sunday Times) not to investigate possible corruption in FIFA on the eve of a crucial meeting to decide where it will be held. "Unpatriotic" apparently. To be fair, the PM said it was a free media and he would roll with it - but called it frustrating. Panorama, of course, held a similar investigation into the IOC before the Olympics bid. There was much huffing and posturing about the BBC then - but the UK still won.
I don't know if FIFA is corrupt, but I know there is enough rumour to justify an investigation. And given the place of football in society today, it's in the public interest to understand whether decisions taken behind closed doors in international football are fair and proper - or not.
What those who think the media should shut up in the hope of winning the bid are really saying is they would sooner sanction corruption than lose the bid. Media investigation may not bode well for England's bid. But turning a blind eye doesn't bode well for the moral heart of the England 2018 bid or any administration urging such behaviour. It's sanctioning corruption or a blind eye that would be truly unpatriotic.
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