Lebanese FA summoned by the country’s Sports Minister for not backing the Moroccan bid

Lebanon’s Sports Minister summoned on Tuesday, 19th of June, members of the country’s Football Association to question the decision they made last week in Russia, while voting for the 2026 World Cup host, says Lebanese newspaper The Daily Star.

According to the same source, Hezbollah Minister Mohammad Fneish wanted to hold responsible those «who gave Lebanon’s vote to the joint bid of the United States, Mexico and Canada», after the FA announced before that it is backing Morocco in the FIFA vote.

«I am taking responsibility for the vote because we work for the interests of Lebanon in sports, not politics or any other cause», Lebanese Football Federation Executive Council Member Semaan Douaihy told the Daily Star.

#Lebanon votes for the USA-Mexico-Canada bid to host #2026worldcup. The delegation who voted was “summoned” by the sports minister after they had been asked to vote for #Morocco. @FIFAcom is and could take action if things escalate. Govt isn’t allowed to interfere w/FA https://t.co/sBzsTx1hrp

— Joseph Haboush (@jhaboush) 21 juin 2018

For the record, the three North American bidding nations won the right to co-host the 2026 World Cup on June the 13th in Russia after they received 134 votes. Meanwhile, Morocco was backed by 65 football federations, losing its fifth chance to host the international tournament.

In fact, after the President of the Lebanese Football Association Jihad Ashahf told media that he voted for the North African bid presented by the Kingdom, it turned out that there was a totally different version to this story.

For Douhairy who was responsible for pressing the button earlier this month in Moscow, voting for the United bid was not a mistake. He reported that the FA delegation agreed to vote for Morocco before leaving Lebanon but once in Russia, they have changed their mind especially after taking a look at the evaluation committee’s scoring.

The Lebanese official has offered his resignation, arguing that the Ministry shouldn’t question the body’s decisions and that the step might draw FIFA’s censure.