October 26 – Pressure is growing on ethics investigators to take action against German organisers of the 2006 World Cup after allegations that a €6.7 million euro slush fund was set up to buy votes ahead of the ballot.
Der Spiegel recently published allegations that Germany used the fund to buy the votes of the four Asian members of the FIFA Executive Committee to secure the right to host the tournament.
The accusations, which catapulted German football into the ongoing FIFA scandal, have been strongly denied by Wolfgang Niersbach, current head of the German FA (DFB) who was 2006 communications director, and by Franz Beckenbauer who led the organising committee.
But Theo Zwanziger (pictured), until recently a member of FIFA’s top brass, says the fund existed and that those in charge knew.
“Without a doubt there was a slush fund linked to the German World Cup application,” Zwanziger told Der Spiegel, adding that he believed the leadership at the time had known about it since 2005.
Niersbach, who succeeded Zwanziger as head of the DFB and on the executive committees of both FIFA and UEFA, says the money was a payment to FIFA as part of a financing agreement to secure a grant of SFr250 million. He denies it was to pay back former Adidas chief Robert Louis-Dreyfus, who died in 2009.
At his press conference last week Niersbach said the case had nothing to do with Germany being awarded the World Cup.
But he was unable to explain why FIFA would require the €6.7 million – which, according to the DFB, was intended for FIFA’s “Cultural Programme” – in order to release the grant. FIFA has said that any such arrangement would not fit with its “procedures and guidelines.”
Germany narrowly defeated South Africa 12-11 to win the rights to host the 2006 World Cup and Zwanziger has effectively accused Niersbach, his arch-rival, of lying. “It is clear in my opinion that that the current DFB president did not learn about it only a matter of weeks ago as he claims, but since at least 2005,” Zwanziger said.
Reinhard Rauball, the German league president, said 2006 organisers had to come clean. “For the league and for me personally it is crucial that everything is clarified in full. It is imperative for all of German football that the whole truth comes out, even if it should lead to painful discoveries,” he said.
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