There’s nothing like FIFA to rain on its own parade with one of its scandals. On Tuesday morning, the controversy surrounding the VAR decisions that led to France’s 1-0 victoryover Nigeria — and Les Bleues’ miserable showing — at the Women’s World Cup took a backseat to the news that Michel Platini, the former French great and later UEFA president, had beendetained by French anti-corruption investigators looking into FIFA’s award of the World Cup 2022 hosting rights to Qatar in 2010. For years, Platini’s late decision to switch his vote and tip thebalance from the USA to Qatar has attracted the attention of French police. The detention of Claude Gueant, the chief of staff of former French president Nicolas Sarkozy, as a witness is noteworthybecause Platini and he were at the famous lunch where Sarkozy hosted Qatar’s crown prince, now emir, Tamin bin Hamad al-Thani, a few weeks before the FIFA vote. As L’Equipe put it,police want to know what was actually agreed upon between the pear and dessert courses. Shortly afterwards, Qatar bought Paris St. Germain and launched beIN Sports, injecting hundredsof millions of euros into French soccer. — Paul Kennedy

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