Three FIFA executives who will help decide the 2018 and 2022 World Cup hosts were accused of corruption Monday in a BBC documentary aired just days before the crunch vote in Zurich.
The long-awaited edition of the British Broadcasting Corporation's Panorama program, whose timing has been condemned by England 2018 chiefs, said senior FIFA officials were involved in a wide-ranging bribery scandal.
The three members of FIFA's executive committee -- Ricardo Teixeira of Brazil, African football chief Issa Hayatou and South America's Nicolas Leoz -- are alleged to have received secret payments from a sports marketing firm.
Panorama also accused a fourth FIFA executive committee member, Jack Warner, of attempting to sell World Cup tickets on the black market.
Warner is seen as a key ally for England 2018 officials whose vote will be crucial if their bid is to be successful.
Panorama said it had obtained a confidential document from International Sports and Leisure (ISL), which detailed 175 payments totaling $100 million made between 1989 and 1999.
Many of the payments were funneled to front companies set up in Liechtenstein, Panorama alleged, with much of the cash eventually being paid to a "handful" of FIFA officials.
FIFA president Sepp Blatter declined to comment on the three FIFA executives accused of involvement in the corruption scandal.
However, he told Panorama that a Swiss court case had largely exonerated the managers of ISL involved in the investigation.
"It is important to stress that no FIFA officials were accused of any criminal offense in these proceedings," Blatter was quoted as saying.
England 2018 officials have condemned the Panorama program as "unpatriotic," accusing the BBC of sensationalism by choosing to air the program three days before the Dec. 2 vote in Zurich.
A BBC spokesman defended the program Monday saying, "The program is in the public interest and shows that some FIFA executives involved in making decisions about the 2018 bid have a history of taking bribes and that FIFA has consistently failed to act.
"Delay until after the bid was not an option once it became clear that the winning nations might have been chosen by officials with a proven track record of corruption."
England is bidding to win the 2018 tournament over Russia and joint bids from Spain/Portugal and Holland/Belgium.
The 2022 race, which will also be decided in a vote on Thursday, sees Australia, the United States, Qatar, Japan and South Korea vying for the tournament.
