Major bribery allegations being made about Germany’s winning bid for World Cup

Germany’s Football Association (DFB) said on Friday it was investigating a 6.7-million-euro ($7.61-million) payment from the country’s 2006 World Cup organising committee to FIFA that may not have been used as intended.

German news magazine Der Spiegel have today alleged that the committee in charge of organising the German bid for the 2006 World Cup, a bid that was eventually successful, set up a multi-million dollar slush fund with the express objective of purchasing votes.

Louis-Dreyfus, a former majority shareholder in the French club Marseille, who died in 2009, is claimed to have borrowed the money and lent it to the bidding committee.

The German Football League said in a statement that, in light of the worldwide scandals engulfing FIFA, it opened an internal investigation into the 2006 World Cup.

Louis-Dreyfus’ loan payment was reportedly kept secret – it did not appear in the bidding committee’s budget, nor later in the budget of the World Cup organizing committee.

High-ranking members of the application committee including legendary 1974 World Cup-winning captain Franz Beckenbauer – Vice-President of the German Football association (DFB) from 1998 to 2010 – were in on the scheme, according to Der Spiegel.

“This may potentially not have been used for the intended objective”, it said, adding it was looking at all legal aspects of the case and the potential for a possible demand for the return of the money.

Spiegel said neither Beckenbauer nor Niersbach provided a response when contacted by the magazine.

When, 18 months before the World Cup, Louis-Dreyfus requested this loan to be repaid, a payment of €6.7million from the organising committee was released via FIFA, internal papers show. “Furthermore, there have been no indications at all of delegates’ votes being bought as part of the bidding process”. This analysis, which also saw law advisors consulted on the question, also examined the question as to whether the DFB has any right to ask for a refund in relation to this. “The results are not yet known as the investigation, which has started, is still under way”.

In July 2000, Germany edged out favourites South Africa by 12 votes to 11 to win hosting rights for the 2006 tournament.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.