Marios Lefkaritis believes the British media did damage England's chances of hosting the World Cup.
Lefkaritis admits negative coverage was a factor
Marios Lefkaritis believes the British media did damage England's chances of hosting the World Cup.
The 2018 bid team were assured prior to Thursday's vote that recent allegations of corruption in the Sunday Times and the Panorama documentary would not be a factor in Fifa's decision.
But England received just two votes out of 22 as Russia were awarded the right to stage the 2018 tournament.
England bid chief executive Andy Anson claimed on Friday that Fifa had blamed the British media for their negative coverage of world football's governing body.
And Lefkaritis, the executive member from Cyprus, admits the feedback from his colleagues was that this was certainly an issue when it came to the vote.
"In the beginning I thought not, but after the experience I got from other members yesterday, then I have to say definitely yes," Lefkaritis told Bloomberg.
"If they [the bid] think they did not, then they are stupid and naive."
