Franz Beckenbauer Comments on World Cup 2006 Bidding Process
German football legend Franz Beckenbauer has opened up on the ongoing investigation regarding allegations Germany's organising committee bribed certain nations to win the 2006 FIFA World Cup bidding process. He acknowledged he made a mistake but denied the money was used to buy votes.
Beckenbauer was president of the committee that made a payment to FIFA, which he claims was done to obtain a financial grant.
Per the Associated Press, he released a statement on Monday:
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"In order to obtain a financial grant from FIFA, a proposal was accepted from FIFA's financial commission that in hindsight should have been rejected by those involved.
For this mistake, I bear responsibility as the president of the then organizing committee.
[...]
There were no votes bought to win the bid for the 2006 World Cup.
"
The legendary defender refused to provide any details regarding the investigation and made no mention of FIFA president Sepp Blatter. According to the president of the German football association, Wolfgang Niersbach, the 79-year-old was involved in the deal, per the Associated Press.
Niersbach claims the committee obtained a grant of 250 million Swiss francs in return for the payment in question, a sum that would now amount to €6.7 million. The money was loaned from Robert Louis-Dreyfus, a former Adidas boss.
Per Rob Harris of the Associated Press, the late Louis-Dreyfus also wasn't mentioned on Monday:
As reported by DW, German publication Spiegel claims the money was used to set up a slush fund to buy the votes from four Asian nations. The transaction has led to strong criticism in Germany, with many calling for Niersbach's resignation, according to the Associated Press.
Germany went up against South Africa, England and Morocco during the bidding process for the 2006 World Cup, winning the final round of voting by a single vote, via BBC News. South Africa were later handed the 2010 World Cup.
As reported by Rob Harris of the Associated Press, Beckenbauer is also under investigation for allegedly obstructing the ongoing investigation into the bidding process for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, to be held in Russia and Qatar, respectively.
