Sorokin denied a formal apology over the comments, saying it was a “misunderstanding”, but Russian sports minister Vitaly Mutko delivered an apology England officials thought satisfactory.
“Mr Mutko approached the bid team with a genuine apology in an honourable manner,” said an England spokesman.
“We have no desire to say we are better than any other bid. I have great respect for the England bid and for Geoff Thompson [England's Fifa ExCo member]” Mutko later said. “We like England and we hope England like Russia.”
In a separate development, the joint Portugal/Spain bid to host the 2018 FIFA World Cup dismissed allegations it has agreed a vote-trading deal with the Qatar candidature to stage 2022 tournament. According to Spanish sports daily Marca, FIFA was tipped off about a possible collusion by the England 2018 bid last week.
