Russia won the right to host the 2018 World Cup through an array of underhanded means, including bribing French soccer legend Michel Platini with a painting by Picasso, according to The Sunday Times of London.
A painting, believed to be a Picasso, was allegedly gifted to Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) president and FIFA executive member Michel Platini in return for his support for the eventually successful Russian bid for the 2018 global showpiece.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Harriet Tubman made a general 161 years after raidSpeed Read She was the first woman to oversee an American military action during a time of war
-
Chappell Roan is a new kind of boundary-setting celebrityIn the Spotlight She's calling out fans and the media for invasive behavior
-
Saudi crown prince slams Israeli 'genocide' in GazaSpeed Read Mohammed bin Salman has condemned Israel’s actions
-
Europe roiled by attacks on Israeli soccer fansSpeed Read Israeli fans supporting the Maccabi Tel Aviv team clashed with pro-Palestinian protesters in 'antisemitic attacks,' Dutch authorities said
-
New York wins WNBA title, nearly nabs World SeriesSpeed Read The Yankees with face the Los Angeles Dodgers in the upcoming Fall Classic
-
Caitlin Clark the No. 1 pick in bullish WNBA DraftSpeed Read As expected, she went to the Indiana Fever
-
South Carolina ends perfect season with NCAA titleSpeed Read The women's basketball team won a victory over superstar Caitlin Clark's Iowa Hawkeyes
-
Iowa's Caitlin Clark breaks NCAA scoring recordspeed read College basketball star Caitlin Clark set the new record in Iowa's defeat of Ohio State
-
Eight-year-old Brit Bodhana Sivanandan makes chess historySpeed Read Sivanandan has been described as a 'phenomenon' by chess masters
-
Watch Simone Biles win her record 8th US gymnastics championshipSpeed Read
-
Spain beats England 1-0 to win its first Women's World CupSpeed Read
