SOCCER-FIFA/GERMANY NIERSBACH German FA repeats no vote buying or slush funds for 2006 World Cup

Record ID: 135471

  • Title: SOCCER-FIFA/GERMANY NIERSBACH German FA repeats no vote buying or slush funds for 2006 World Cup
  • Date: 19th October 2015
  • Summary: DORTMUND, GERMANY (OCTOBER 19, 2015) (REUTERS) ****WARNING CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** VARIOUS OF DORTMUND'S NEWLY OPENED SOCCER MUSEUM VARIOUS OF WOLFGANG NIERSBACH, PRESIDENT GERMAN FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION (DFB) ARRIVING (SOUNDBITE) (German) PRESIDENT GERMAN FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION (DFB), WOLFGANG NIERSBACH, SAYING: "The 2006 World Cup was a summer fairy tale and it is a summer fairy tale. The summer fairy tale is not destroyed because I am saying here again: there were no slush funds, there was no vote purchase. We entered the competition with legal means and we won it with legal means in Zurich on July 6, 2000 for us, for Germany, for German soccer." SIDE SHOT OF PODIUM WITH NIERSBACH SPEAKING (SOUNDBITE) (German) PRESIDENT GERMAN FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION (DFB), WOLFGANG NIERSBACH, SAYING: "There is one open question which we made public ourselves which is what the 6.9 million we transferred were used for. This money transfer from our organising committee to FIFA is currently being investigated internally by the control committee in charge. We also asked a renowned international commercial law firm to investigate." WIDE OF NEWS CONFERENCE REPORTER TAKING NOTES (SOUNDBITE) (German) PRESIDENT GERMAN FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION (DFB), WOLFGANG NIERSBACH, SAYING: "We categorically and vehemently deny the main accusation that the summer fairy tale is destroyed and that there were slush funds. It's not true." WIDE OF PODIUM
  • Embargoed: 3rd November 2015 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Germany
  • Country: Germany
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVADVZ7196CHBCZFYGEBQ8IH3VTJ
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Germany's Football Association (DFB) on Monday (October 19) repeated that bribery allegations made by Der Spiegel magazine concerning the 2006 soccer World Cup were "not true."
    DFB president Wolfgang Niersbach told reporters in Dortmund "the 2006 World Cup was a summer fairy tale and it is a summer fairy tale," referring to the title of a popular German documentary made during the tournament.
    "The summer fairy tale is not destroyed because I am saying here again: there were no slush funds, there was no vote purchase. We entered the competition with legal means and we won it with legal means in Zurich on July 6, 2000 for us, for Germany, for German soccer."
    Niersbach, speaking on the occasion of Dortmund's soccer museum opening, told reporters "there is one open question which we made public ourselves which is what the 6.9 million we transferred were used for. This money transfer from our organising committee to FIFA is currently being investigated internally by the control committee in charge."
    Frankfurt's state prosecutor said on Monday it will look into bribery allegations concerning the 2006 soccer World Cup after the magazine report suggested a slush fund had been used to buy votes for the German bid in 2000.
    Der Spiegel reported on Friday that Germany's bid committee had tapped into a slush fund of 6.7 million euros to buy votes at world soccer's governing body FIFA.
    Niersbach, Franz Beckenbauer, who headed the organising committee for the 2006 soccer World Cup and the DFB have vehemently rejected the allegations as 'groundless' and have said the magazine was providing no evidence to back up its claims.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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