England's troubled 2018 World Cup bid has been given a boost at a critical time by both UEFA president Michel Platini and FIFA vice-president Jack Warner.

FIFA's ethics committee are investigating claims made by Lord Triesman that Spain would support Russia's bid for the 2018 World Cup in return for help bribing referees in South Africa.

Triesman has resigned following publication of a recording of the comments, made secretly during a conversation with a friend.

Platini said the row may have damaged England's bid but insists it can recover.

The UEFA president said: "I have a good friendship with Lord Triesman and I want to help him in his bad moment, for him as a person.

"I want to support my friend in this big problem. I think it is a bad thing that happened to him."

Platini said the controversy could have harmed England's bid but under Triesman's successor Geoff Thompson - a UEFA and FIFA vice-president - the campaign could recover before the vote is taken on December 2.

Asked if the bid had been damaged, Platini said: "Maybe yes, I think you need the people who vote on your side.

"But for the bid Geoff Thompson is a good guy, England is a great country and of course it can recover and survive this."

Meanwhile, Warner said the FA's swift action had limited any damage.

Warner said: "It's unfortunate but the English FA dealt with it appropriately and quickly and therefore I don't believe there'll be too much negative reaction from it."

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.