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Russia and Qatar could lose the 2018 and 2022 World Cups respectively if evidence emerges of bribery, leading FIFA official Domenico Scala has said.The countries deny wrongdoing in their bidding processes and Scala admits he has not seen evidence of corruption.Scala is the head of FIFA’s audit and compliance committee. But he said: “Should there be evidence that the awards to Qatar and Russia came only because of bought votes, then the awards could be cancelled.”Speaking to Swiss newspaper Sonntagszeitung, he added: “Until today, the respective evidence has not been provided.”Scala made similar comments at the end of 2013 but in light of events at FIFA in the past two weeks this will be viewed as a more serious warning.Seven senior FIFA officials were arrested last month in high-profile dawn raids at a Zurich hotel, where they had been staying ahead of their presidential election.They are among 14 people charged by US prosecutors, who allege they accepted bribes and kickbacks estimated...

The Russian government has denied that the aircraft, filled with military hardware, arrested in Nigeria Saturday has any link with Russia. The Eastern European country said through its embassy in Nigeria that the plane wasn’t Russian and had no link with Russia. “According to the information of the Embassy, the detained in Kano plane, allegedly carrying military hardware on board, is not Russian,” the Russia Embassy in Nigeria, tweeted via its handle @RusEmbNigeria late Saturday. Media reports had suggested Saturday that the aircraft, now being detained at the Aminu Kano Airport in Kano, originated from Russia. The plane, loaded with arms, bullet proof vests and a chopper, is believed to be on its way to neighbouring Chad, when it was intercepted by Nigerian authorities. Although it confirmed the aircraft was being held and investigated, the military did not say where it originated from and where it was headed. “An Antonov Cargo aircraft carrying some milit...