To some it will be a statement of the obvious, to others an admission that should ring alarm bells. Responding to the assertion of the Fifa president, Sepp Blatter, that the Qatar 2022 World Cup was a “political” choice by European voters, the Uefa president, Michel Platini, has confirmed that “political and economic influences” were a factor. The controversial selection of Qatar to host the 2022 World Cup in December 2010 has resulted in a bitter row over whether the tournament should be moved to winter to avoid the searing summer heat, a move expected to be agreed in principle by Fifa next month. Blatter, who voted for the US to host the 2022 tournament but has since become an advocate of moving it to winter, said in an interview this week that there was “definitely direct political influence” on European executive committee members to vote for Qatar. “European leaders recommended to its voting members to opt for Qatar, because of major economic interests in the country,” he told the German weekly Die Zeit. Following a meeting of all 54 Uefa member associations in Dubrovnik, at which they confirmed in principle their support for a winter World Cup in 2022,…