IN BRIEF (Page 23)

Soccer

Lineker: Qatar Cup 'ludicrous'

Former England striker Gary Lineker has accused FIFA of "nauseating" corruption and said the decision to award the 2022 World Cup to Qatar was "ludicrous". "I was with David Beckham having a burger the night before the Qatar decision (in Zurich in December 2010)," he told GQ magazine. "We were out trying to get support--Prince William and (British Prime Minister) David Cameron were out there, too - and I said to Becks, 'We are the only country doing this. The whole thing smells; it is a done deal'. It makes you feel sick, actually, the whole FIFA thing. The corruption at the top level is nauseating."