Members of FIFA determined that England should not stage the 2018 World Cup have been applauding the British media behind the scenes.
As the international football authority's Ethics Committee announced its decisions regarding the cases of corruption uncovered by the Sunday Times the anti-England camp were secretly toasting their success.
We were told by a source in the electoral committee: "This has finally put the mockers on the England bid - and if the planned Panorama programme on Fifa corruption goes ahead, you can throw a match on the funeral pyre.
"This has been a marvellous piece of work by the British media who were so pissed off that London got the 2012 Olympics.
"They have been so bitter over their failure to scupper that effort that they have been doing all they can to undermine the England World Cup bid.
"It's just brilliant. We now don't have to lift a finger to persuade people not to vote for England."
One football reporter on a national newspaper told us: "Yup... can't say I'm sorry. I mean, it's the World Cup. Who wants to stay here and cover it, when we could be living it up in Spain and Portugal on expenses?
"It's a no-brainer."
