Cup bid sealed in 'backroom deal'

Blatter: Executive committee agreed to pick Russia before vote took place

Sepp Blatter has claimed there was a deal to give Russia the 2018 World Cup before voting took place, and blamed "bad losers" England and the US for the corruption scandal engulfing the organisation.

"In 2010, we (FIFA's 22-strong executive committee) had taken a double decision, we were agreed to go to Russia (in 2018), then in 2022 we'd return to the United States," the outgoing FIFA president told Russian news agency TASS.