Published>Fri, Oct 29 10 02:16 AM
England's 2018 World Cup bid is withdrawing its complaint to FIFA over comments made by rivals Russia, after an England spokesman said the campaign had accepted an apology from Russia's bid chairman.
England's campaign team told Reuters on Thursday that Russian Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko approached England bid chief Geoff Thompson to apologise in an "honourable" manner.
"We of course accepted this apology and appreciate the gesture," the England bid team said in a statement.
On Tuesday, England lodged a formal complaint with soccer's governing body FIFA against Alexei Sorokin, general director of the Russian bid, accusing him of making critical comments about rival bidders.
"It's no secret London has the highest crime rate when compared with other European cities, and the highest level of alcohol consumption among young people," Sorokin was quoted as saying in the Sport-Express daily newspaper earlier this month.
He later said his comments had been "misinterpreted and distorted".
Sorokin said on Wednesday he had sent a letter to England's bid team hoping to put to rest "any misunderstanding" between the two rivals.
"We've sent a letter of explanation to the English bid officials," Sorokin told Reuters, adding that it was not a formal apology.
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