Germany Accused of Bribing FIFA Officials to Host 2006 World Cup

The German bidding committee bought the votes of the four Asian representatives on the FIFA Executive Committee that supported representatives from Europe, helping Germany to win the right to host the World Cup, according to German media reports.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Germany allegedly bribed representatives on the FIFA Executive Committee to gain the right to hold the 2006 World Cup, local media reported Friday.

According to the German magazine Der Spiegel, the German bidding committee along with then-CEO of German sports company Adidas, Robert Louis-Dreyfus, created a special fund of 10.3 million Swiss francs ($10.8 million at current exchange rates).

Der Spiegel reported that this money was lent by Louis-Dreyfus to the committee shortly before the date when the committee decided to hold 2006 World Cup in Germany. The loan was never recorded in the budget of the bidding or organizing committees. The sum is reported to have been paid back using a FIFA account.

The magazine claims that the money was used to buy the votes of the four Asian representatives on the FIFA Executive Committee that supported representatives from Europe, helping Germany to win the right to host the World Cup, narrowly beating South Africa.

Beset by scandal in 2015, Switzerland opened in May an investigation into the FIFA bidding process for World Cup 2018 and 2022 in Russia and Qatar respectively. Also in May, 14 people, including 7 high-ranking FIFA executives, were indicted on charges of money laundering, racketeering and accepting bribes.

The 2006 World Cup took place in Germany between June 9 and July 9. Italy won the championship beating France in the final game. The host country finished third. In 2014 Germany's team decisively won the FIFA World Cup competition.