The vote that awarded Qatar the right to host the 2022 World Cup should be rerun if recent allegations of corruption are proved to be accurate, FIFA officials said Monday.

A report by British newspaper the Sunday Times claimed Sunday that Qatari former FIFA executive committee member and Asian Football Confederation chief Mohamed Bin Hammam made payments totaling $5 million to senior officials in return for support for Qatar's successful bid for the 2022 World Cup.

The newspaper said it had obtained millions of emails, documents and bank transfers to support the allegations.

Speaking to BBC radio Monday, Lord Goldsmith, a member of FIFA's Independent Governance Committee, said he believed that “if these allegations are shown to be true, then the hosting decision for Qatar has to be rerun”.

"If it is proved that the decision to give Qatar the World Cup was procured by frankly what one can describe it in no other way as bribery and improper influence, then that decision ought not to stand," he said.

Soccer's world governing body had already launched an investigation into corruption allegations surrounding the bid, headed by American lawyer Michael Garcia. The report is expected this year.

FIFA Vice President Jim Boyce said he would also support a revote to find a new host for the 2022 World Cup if the allegations are shown to be accurate.

"I certainly as a member of the executive committee would have absolutely no problem whatsoever if the recommendation was for a revote,” he told BBC Radio 5 live's Sportsweek programme.

“If Garcia comes up with concrete evidence, and concrete evidence is given to the executive committee and to Fifa, then it has to be looked at very seriously.”

Australia considers making new bid

If the unprecedented decision was taken to rerun the vote, the losers in the 2010 ballot that led to Qatar being chosen, who had already spent millions of dollars satisfying the technical criteria for a bid, could be in the frame.

They include the United States, South Korea, Japan and Australia.

Football Federation Australia (FFA) said Monday it would consider resubmitting its bid to host the tournament should it be stripped from Qatar in light of the corruption claims.

“They’re serious allegations and we're looking to see what the response to that will be," FFA chief executive David Gallop told Melbourne local radio.

South Korea has said it would wait for "confirmed facts" before deciding its position.

"These are no confirmed facts as yet and it would be premature to comment. Our position has not been decided," an official from the Korea Football Association (KFA) said Monday.

Another KFA official said: "We will await the outcome of any FIFA probe and then follow its decision."

(FRANCE 24 with AFP, REUTERS)