This is a significant stage, but not the final one.
That distinction matters. Football has seen plenty of explosive allegations over the years, but court proceedings operate on a different timeline and a different standard. The immediate issue is procedural: whether judges believe the case should move forward.
The 2022 World Cup itself has come and gone, but the argument over how hosting rights are won remains central to ’s credibility.
Reports suggest the inquiry focuses on events before the 2010 vote, including Temarii’s suspension from ’s executive committee and the claim that a replacement voter would have backed Australia rather than Qatar. The report also says prosecutors allege 305,000 euros was paid toward Temarii’s legal defence during his appeal.
Those details matter because World Cup votes are small-room decisions with huge consequences. A single unavailable voter can alter football history.
This is about more than revisiting a controversial award. It is about whether football’s old power networks still cast a shadow over the modern game. has spent years trying to present a cleaner, more controlled image, yet stories tied to former powerbrokers keep resurfacing.
The next step is now with the judges. If proceedings are ordered, the sport will again be forced to examine how its biggest prize was handed out - and whether the governance questions from 2010 are really in the past.