France's National Financial Prosecutor's Office has asked for four defendants, among them a former FIFA vice-president and a Qatari billionaire, to stand trial over the Polynesian branch of "Qatargate". At the centre of the investigation are Reynald Temarii and Mohamed bin Hammam. The charges are serious. Temarii is accused of "passive private corruption", a charge tied to the contested 2010 decision to hand the 2022 World Cup to Qatar. Prosecutors have completed years of analysis and have now formally filed their final indictment. The tentacles of these corruption schemes stretch from Tahiti to Doha, marking the biggest legal and reputational collapse in the history of world football.
