A note passed during a recent FIFA meeting indicates the World Cup bids from Spain-Portugal and Qatar will be cleared over vote-trading allegations, according to executive committee member Chuck Blazer.
Blazer said Wednesday that he translated the Spanish note written by Angel Villar Llona of Spain to Mohamed Bin Hammam of Qatar during last month's meeting, when the problems surrounding bidding for the 2018 and 2022 tournaments were discussed.
Blazer told The Associated Press that the note read ''Congratulations, vamos a ganar,'' which translates as ''Congratulations, we are going to win.''
Blazer thinks the note refers to the bidders being cleared by a FIFA ethics committee investigation. Spain-Portugal is vying to host the 2018 tournament and Qatar the 2022 edition in the Dec. 2 vote.
The executive committee had been discussing the lack of hard evidence of collusion, according to Blazer.
''There was nothing that had come up that seems to be anything in the way of evidence,'' Blazer said. ''I think it might have been in response to that, but I have no way of knowing really what is in his mind.''
The ethics probe was sparked by The Sunday Times of London releasing a video of former FIFA general secretary Michel Zen-Ruffinen saying Spain-Portugal and Qatar had struck a deal giving each seven votes.
The Iberian neighbors deny the claim, and Qatar officials have not confirmed they are being investigated.
The ethics panel is due to publish its findings Nov. 17.
England, Russia and Belgium-Netherlands are also vying for the 2018 World Cup, while Qatar are joined in the 2022 race by the United States, Australia, Japan and South Korea.
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AP Sports Writer Ronald Blum in New York contributed to this report.
