AFP
Doha
A senior Qatar World Cup official took to social media Friday to re-assert the Gulf state will host the 2022 tournament, even as it faces a torrent of fresh criticism.
A defiant Nasser al Khater, assistant secretary-general at Qatar's Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy, responded on Twitter after a critic claimed bookmakers had shortened odds on the World Cup being taken away from Qatar.
Earlier on Friday, Ghanem Nuseibeh had tweeted:"William Hill offering odds 25% chance FIFA 2022 will not be held in Qatar.
"In business terms, 25% is 'high risk'."
That prompted an outburst from Khater, who wrote:"The odds were 6000 to 1 against us winning the bid in 2009. Guess what happened on Dec 2, 2010. He added:"Go figure, #mercenary."
Nuseibeh had already provoked anger in Qatar last week when his company, Cornerstone Global Associates, produced a controversial report claiming there was an"increasing political risk"of Doha losing the World Cup because of the ongoing diplomatic crisis in the region.