MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — Moscow denied yesterday that it had colluded to win the right to host the 2018 World Cup after suspended FIFA head Sepp Blatter alleged a back-room deal saw Russia scoop the tournament.

“There was no collusion between Russia and anyone,” Russian news agencies quoted sports minister Vitaly Mutko as saying. “It is absolutely not true.”

“We deservedly received the World Cup,” he said.

Mutko’s statement comes days after Blatter claimed that there was a deal struck to award Russia the 2018 World Cup before voting for the host country had taken place.

“In 2010, we (FIFA’s 22-strong executive committee) had taken a double decision, we were agreed to go to Russia (in 2018), then in 2022 we’d return to the United States,” the outgoing FIFA president told Russian news agency TASS on Wednesday.

Russia is set to host the 2018 World Cup, but the bidding process for the tournament, as well as that of Qatar’s 2022 World Cup, has come under scrutiny as part of twin Swiss and US corruption investigations into FIFA’s practices.

Russia’s organising committee for the 2018 tournament said in a statement yesterday that it was not aware of any behind-the-scenes deals and maintained that its bid had been “competitive”.

“The Russian bid was open and transparent, completely in line with the best international management practices and had the thorough support of the Russian government,” the statement said.

FIFA has reiterated its support for Moscow, saying that Russia will not be stripped of its right to host the tournament.

Moscow, in turn, has publicly supported the embattled outgoing FIFA head, with President Vladimir Putin praising Blatter’s “experience, professionalism and high level of authority” in May.

Earlier this month, Blatter was suspended by FIFA’s independent ethics committee for 90 days as part of a wide-ranging investigation into corruption at the heart of world football’s governing body.

A new FIFA head is set to be elected on February 26.