February 20 – After weeks of relative silence, Franz Beckenbauer’s much publicised business dealings while he was at FIFA have come under fresh scrutiny, this time over the award of the 2010 World Cup to South Africa.
Already embroiled in the official investigation into the bid process for the 2006 finals when Germany pipped South Africa by a single vote, Beckenbauer is now alleged to have received payment as one of three consultants who helped South Africa win hosting rights for the subsequent tournament.
Beckenbauer, Germany’s most revered footballing figure who led their 2006 bid and was a FIFA executive committee member for several years, has long denied that he helped buy the World Cup.
But he is the subject of ongoing investigations in both Germany and Switzerland arising out of the scandal while FIFA’s ethics committee, separately, is conducting an investigation into six individuals, including Beckenbauer, over potential vote buying and failure to report a breach of the FIFA ethics code.
Now Bild-Zeitung has claimed that Becklenbauer and two of his aides Andreas Abold and Fedor Radmann were paid by FIFA for consultancy work on behalf of the South African Football Association who apparently turned to football’s world governing body for help.
The paper claims the trio were paid €1.7 million for their work with Beckenbauer’s money allegedly ending up in the tax haven of Gibraltar. It further claims the invoices were approved by then FIFA General Secretary Urs Linsi. Beckenbauer has made no comment on the latest reports which will not be lost, however, on the various judicial bodies examining his conduct.
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