From the daily mail:
Lord Triesman has stood down as FA chairman, and chairman of England’s 2018 World Cup bid. Triesman left his roles after it was revealed that he accused Spain and Russia of planning to bribe referees in this summer’s tournament. Triesman, the former Government Minister who was given the job of trying to rebuild the FA’s scandal-hit reputation, made his extraordinary claims during an hour-long meeting with a former aide.
He divulged highly sensitive information about England’s 2018 bid – which he is leading – and, in what will be viewed as a disastrous lapse of judgment, accused rival nations of corruption.
The 66-year-old Labour peer suggested that Spain may withdraw its bid to stage the 2018 finals if Russia, which also wants to host the event, helps it to bribe referees in next month’s World Cup tournament in South Africa. The revelations come just two days after Lord Triesman and David Beckham formally presented England’s 1,752-page ‘bid book’ to Sepp Blatter, the president of FIFA, football’s world governing body.
The FA made a desperate attempt to secure a High Court injunction to prevent The Mail on Sunday publishing this story. They abandoned the case after 90 minutes however. Lord Triesman made the corruption claims to Melissa Jacobs, a civil servant he employed as a private secretary when he was a Minister at the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills.
