Thursday 23 April 2015 22:21, UK
Demands for another vote to choose the hosts for the 2022 World Cup have been turned down by the international football governing body FIFA.
Responding to a Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) debate on Thursday, FIFA says it has "no legal obligation for FIFA's executive committee to revoke" the decision that handed Qatar the hosting rights.
The 47-nation PACE meeting in Strasbourg, France, agreed a re-vote was justified by "illegal payments" linked to Qatari former FIFA power broker Mohamed bin Hammam.
Lawmakers relied on The Sunday Times reporting last June that Bin Hammam paid $US5million to football officials worldwide to build support for Qatar's bid.
FIFA accepted legal advice last December to close an ethics investigation into the 2022 hosting contest.
FIFA says "recent developments and decisions have either been omitted or inaccurately reflected" by PACE.
Qatar were cleared of any wrongdoing by FIFA last November following the publication of a report on the bidding processes for the 2018 and 2022 World Cup tournaments.
The 42-page report by German judge Hans-Joachim Eckert, chairman of FIFA's independent ethics committee, confirmed Qatar and Russia as the hosts for the 2022 and 2018 tournaments, stating any rule breaches by the bidding countries were "of very limited scope".
The report also cleared Qatar of involvement in any payments by Mohamed Bin Hammam, the Qatari former FIFA executive committee member who was banned for life by FIFA, stating he was "distant" from the bid committee.
PACE is an international organisation, separate from the Europe Union, which oversees the European Court of Human Rights.
