FIFA deny British MP's World Cup coverage claim

FIFA have strenuously denied a claim by a British MP that they are pressurising the British government to remove the World Cup from the list of sports events that must be shown on terrestrial television or risk England missing out on hosting the 2018 tournament.

Labour MP John Grogan said in a parliamentary debate yesterday that ministers had told him that FIFA had warned them the bid to stage the World Cup would be under threat if the majority of the tournament stayed on the protected list.