By Andrew Warshaw
March 1 – Just a few days before the release of an eagerly awaited internal report into slush fund allegations surrounding Germany’s successful 2006 World Cup bid, another senior German FA official has left his position, fuelling speculation that the report could produce explosive findings.
Helmut Sandrock has quit as the federation’s general secretary, three months after ex-president Wolfgang Niersbach did the same amid claims, which he denies, that he knew about payments which allegedly could have been to secure votes.
A new DFB new president will be elected on April 15 with treasurer Reinhard Grindel favourite to take over and Sandrock, who served as general secretary since 2012, suggested that was why he was standing down.
“It is good practice and normal to give a newly elected president of the DFB [German football federation] the chance to propose a new general secretary for election,” he said.
“For the good of our football and the DFB it is necessary to make a completely new start in a credible and consistent manner, also in terms of personnel.”
Late last year, tax authorities raided the DFB’s headquarters after it emerged the federation had made a secret payment of €6.7 million to FIFA in 2005. German news weekly Der Spiegel, which broke the story, claimed the money had been used to set up a slush fund to buy votes in the 2006 World Cup bidding process.
At last Friday’s FIFA general election, the DFB vote – for Gianni Infantino – was cast by Grindel in Sandrock’s absence.
Sandrock had worked for the DFB as tournament director in the build-up to the 2006 World Cup and later had a stint with FIFA, where he coordinated the Club World Cup in 2006 and 2007 as well as the Confederations Cup in 2009 and the 2010 World Cup.
The mystery payment revealed by Der Spiegel has never been fully explained and nor has a proposed deal allegedly made but never carried out with disgraced former FIFA vice-president Jack Warner.
This Friday’s independent report by legal firm Freshfields, looking into the events surrounding the controversial 2006 vote, could establish whether or not there was a cover-up and throw more light on the roles played by officials involved who also include then DFB general secretary Horst R Schmidt and the highest-profile figure of them all, bid committee and organising chief Franz Beckenbauer.
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