Accusation of World Cup fraud aims at Russia, Sports Minister

Recent accusations of fraud in selecting the hosting countries for the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cups aimed at Russia, Russian Sports Minister said on Monday.

"Everything is tuned up against Russia and everybody understands what the eventual aim is and it is to inflict some sort of damage on Russia. It can be moral, social or political," Vitaly Mutko was quoted as saying by the TASS news agency.

"If there was something serious everybody would already know about it," he said, denying there was any illegitimate conduct in Russia's winning of the bid to host the 2018 World Cup.

"As for now, it turns out that we are the most honest," he added.

The sports minister dismissed media reports that Swiss police has questioned him over the alleged criminal mismanagement and money laundering in connection with the choice of World Cup host cities.

"It was not so," he said. "I see no reasons for it as we all worked consistently and honestly."

FIFA president Sepp Blatter announced earlier this month an unexpected decision to lay down his mandate just days after he was re-elected as FIFA's head for a fifth consecutive term, amid tumultuous times for the football federation following the arrest of nine high-profile FIFA officials and five corporate executives earlier by Swiss police in Zurich on the request of U.S. authorities.

The move has provoked strong criticism from Moscow. Russian president Vladimir Putin slammed that this is another "blatant attempt to extend U.S. jurisdiction to other countries" and one way of the United States to "achieve its own selfish purposes."

Mutko said earlier that the scandal will not affect preparations for the 2018 football event and it will be held in Russia as planned. Endit