WSG sues Daily News columnist

SINGAPORE

Mohammed Bin Hammam.

Singapore-based World Sports Group (WSG) has started legal proceedings against veteran journalist and Hürriyet Daily News columnist James M. Dorsey, in order to reveal how he may have come into possession of internal Asian Football Confederation (AFC) documents.

WSG has asked Singapore’s High Court to instruct Dorsey to reveal how he may have come into possession of internal AFC documents, including an audit that puts on record unexplained payments of $14 million to former FIFA vice president and AFC President Mohammed Bin Hammam by one of the company’s shareholders, prior to the signing of its controversial $1 billion marketing-rights contract with the AFC. The report by PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PwC) also raises questions about how WSG was chosen, the terms of the contract, and how it was negotiated.

“This is an attempt to quash free reporting and to intimidate sources with bullying tactics rather than what should be integral parts of sports marketing: transparency, accountability and engagement,” Dorsey told Hürriyet Daily News. “It’s the kind strategy people who have something to hide use.”