London: A senior Russian football official has described England 2018 World Cup bid as "absolutely primitive" for making a formal complaint to FIFA against the Russian campaign`s chief.
England had filed the complaint with FIFA after Alexei Sorokin, the Chief Executive of the Russian bid, made derogatory comments about London`s crime rate and alcohol problems.
England alleged that Sorokin`s comments contravened FIFA`s rules which dictate that bidders must not make comments about their rivals "whether adverse or otherwise".
However, Viacheslav Koloskov, one of the most powerful officials in Russian football and former FIFA Vice-President, claims that England only made their move because they were behind Russia and were "afraid of how badly their bid is going".
"It`s a comical situation. The English are afraid of how badly their bid is going. They now say one of the members of our bidding team has spoken out against England in an improper manner," a daily quoted Koloskov, as saying.
"It`s a raising of tensions, and also an attempt to influence the work of our bidding team. These acts have little chance of success."
"Russia should not be afraid of sanctions. There won`t even be an investigation. The behaviour of the English is absolutely primitive. Instead of talking about their own excellence and merits, they try to put off their opponents," he added.
Earlier, Sorokin has said that he would explain the comments, arguing that they had been misinterpreted and mistranslated.
"I do not feel that what I said originally requires an apology. I am sure there is a record of that which, if forced, I`ll have to find," Sorokin had said.
"The idea was that the media did not focus on the negative manifestations of any other societies, ours or anyone else`s. The examples may have been bad examples, as it turned out, but they were just examples," he added.
England and Russia, along with Belgium/Holland and Spain/Portugal, are bidding to host the 2018 World Cup.
FIFA will announce the winner on December 2.
ANI
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts.
Cookies Setting
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device and the processing of information obtained via those cookies (including about your preferences, device and online activity) by us and our commercial partners to enhance site navigation, personalise ads, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. More information can be found in our Cookies and Privacy Policy. You can amend your cookie settings to reject non-essential cookies by clicking Cookie Settings below.
Manage Consent Preferences
Strictly Necessary Cookies
These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work or you may not be able to login.
Functional Cookies
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then some or all of these services may not function properly.
Targeting Cookies
These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They are also used to limit the number of times you see an advert as well as help measure the effectiveness of an advertising campaign. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
Performance Cookies
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we may not know when you have visited our site, and may not be able to monitor its performance.