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 | | You are in: In Depth: 2006 World Cup decision |
| | Tuesday, 4 July, 2000, 23:47 GMT Morocco chief slams Brazilian withdrawal  England's 2006 bid looks unlikely to succeed The vice president of Morocco's 2006 World Cup campaign, Said Belkhayat, has criticised Brazil's withdrawal in favour of South Africa as "abnormal" and has called on Fifa to act on the matter. Brazil withdrew from the race to stage the finals on Monday and have publicly backed South Africa, who are now the firm favourites to win the race to host the tournament.
"It is abnormal that a country should withdraw. I regret Brazil's action."
The deal between South Africa and Brazil is widely thought to be a two-way agreement, with South Africa offering a reciprocal gesture when the battle for the 2010 tournament begins. Belkhayat's criticism of Brazil's decision to pull out, follows a slamming condemnation from Germany's Franz Beckenbauer, who has been forced to admit that Germany's bid is now unlikely to succeed. "The deal is offensive," Beckenbauer said. "It is horse trading and means that we have probably lost the bid." | | See also:  Other top 2006 World Cup decision stories: Links to top 2006 World Cup decision stories are at the foot of the page. | |||
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