German football chief unable to fully explain suspicious 2006 FIFA World Cup payments

DFB President Wolfgang Niersbach could not provide a full explanation of the payment but denies any wrongdoing by German World Cup organisers ©Getty Images

German Football Association (DFB) President Wolfgang Niersbach insists an undisclosed multi-million euro payment was not used to buy votes during Germany's successful bid to land the 2006 FIFA World Cup, but was unable to fully answer questions about exactly what the money was for.

An undisclosed loan of almost €6.7 million (£4.9 million/$7.7 million) was made by former Adidas chief executive Robert Louis-Dreyfus to the country's Bid Committee in 2000 that never appeared on accounts, it was reported last week in German magazine Der Spiegel.

The money was reportedly used in a slush fund to bribe four Asian members of FIFA's Executive Committee, including South Korea's Chung Mong-joon, banned earlier this month by the world governing body's Ethics Committee for six years after being found guilty of offences related to conduct, confidentiality, disclosure and collaboration.

Niersbach, a former vice-president of the German bid, explained that the sum was paid to FIFA in 2002 so they could receive €170 million (£123 million/$189 million) in subsidies from football’s world governing body.

"The main issue is what I underlined last week: that everything was legal with the awarding of the 2006 World Cup, no slush funds and no bought votes," he said.

"This allegation is not true."

But when asked why they required a €6.7 million payment in order to pay out a far higher sum, he answered: “I do not know that."

Italy eventually won the 2006 World Cup in Germany after beating France in the final on penalties ©Getty Images

He was also unable to fully explain a similar payment of €6.7 million to FIFA for a Cultural Programme in 2005 and whether it was used as intended.

"I don't want it to look like I am dodging questions, but today I cannot give you a complete explanation," he claimed.

"There are open questions and that is why we asked the legal firm [last week] to investigate it.

"There are question marks regarding this process that I have as well."

Germany, whose bid was led by former World Cup winning captain and coach Franz Beckenbauer, was awarded hosting rights for the 2006 World Cup by the slenderist of 12-11 margins over South Africa.

This came after New Zealand's Charlie Dempsey abstained from the decisive second round of voting, blaming "intolerable pressure" on the eve of the vote.

Louis-Dreyfus, the figure at the centre of the allegations, died in 2009 following a long battle with leukemia.

It was also announced yesterday that Beckenbauer faces being banned from football following investigations by the FIFA Ethics Committee into his conduct during the 2018 and 2022 World Cup bidding processes, when he was a member of the FIFA Executive Committee.