By Andrew Warshaw
January 25 – US investigators who have laid bare football’s worst ever corruption scandal are widening their probe to examine the awarding of the 2006 World Cup to Germany.
Reports a the weekend by Germany’s Sueddeutsche Zeitung say that tt the heart of fresh inquiries is the notorious alleged “slush fund” of €6.7 million made by the German Football Association (DFB) to FIFA.
Both Franz Beckenbauer, who headed the 2006 World Cup organising committee, and Wolfgang Niersbach, former president of the German FA (DFB) who resigned over the slush fund allegations, have denied any wrongdoing and are already cooperating with German and Swiss investigators.
Niersbach, who was communications director of Germany’s bid campaign and then of the organising committee, was forced to step down in November to take “political responsibility” for the mysterious payment which was first exposed by Der Spiegel magazine. The magazine claims the money was a return on a loan from then Adidas CEO Robert Louis-Dreyfus and used to buy votes in favour of Germany’s 2006 World Cup bid.
Niersbach rejects any knowledge of such a scheme as does Beckenbauer who has previously admitted, however, that the payment to FIFA had been “a mistake in hindsight”.
The DFB says the money was a loan to release a grant of €170 million to stage the 2006 tournament but FIFA have questioned this explanation. Shortly before Niersbach’s resignation, the DFB’s headquarters and Niersbach’s private property were raided by tax investigators looking for clues over any wrongdoing. An internal audit has failed to find any trace of the €6.7 million in the DFB’s tax documents.
According to the Sueddeutsche Zeitung report, the FBI is concerned with the parallels between the payment and an alleged $10 million bribe to disgraced former FIFA vice-president Jack Warner from organisers of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
Beckenbauer has rejected allegations of any votes-for-cash deal but suspicion continues to grow with the DFB confirming that a contract between him and Warner, banned from football for life since September, was drafted four days before the World Cup vote in July 2000 when Germany edged out South Africa by a single vote. The draft offered a series of services, including friendly matches and coaching but no financial offer and, importantly, was never fulfilled.
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