Former German FA boss Zwanziger files complaint against Swiss over 2006 World Cup

Record ID: 1427015

  • Title: Former German FA boss Zwanziger files complaint against Swiss over 2006 World Cup
  • Date: 13th August 2019
  • Summary: DIEZ, GERMANY (AUGUST 13, 2019) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF FORMER GERMAN FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION (DFB) PRESIDENT THEO ZWANZIGER (SOUNDBITE) (German) FORMER GERMAN FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION (DFB) PRESIDENT, THEO ZWANZIGER, SAYING: "The deception we are being accused of is not proven by anything. Even in the investigation documents the investigators themselves are saying that they are speculating. If an investigator speculates he has no basis for his charges. That's the reason why we filed a complaint in Switzerland against the two investigators because of a knowingly false interpretation of an evidence outcome, or rather because they knowingly did not touch necessary evidence." CAMERA CREWS ZWANZIGER IN VIEWFINDER (SOUNDBITE) (German) FORMER GERMAN FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION (DFB) PRESIDENT, THEO ZWANZIGER, SAYING: "Isn't it interesting who is part of this investigation? The former FIFA president, Mr. (Sepp) Blatter is not. That's very remarkable. After all, it was not I or Horst Schmidt but his own secretary general who seriously accused him in connection with this matter. There appears to be no concept. Protect the Swiss, punish the Germans." VARIOUS OF REPORTERS (SOUNDBITE) (German) FORMER GERMAN FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION (DFB) PRESIDENT, THEO ZWANZIGER, SAYING: "The office of the Attorney General in Switzerland, together with FIFA, failed miserably. All leads point to Qatar. Mohammed Bin Hammam, this corrupt FIFA functionary, has received the money, admitted it and simply says 'dear friends, that's none of your business.' Meanwhile, others are being persecuted."
  • Embargoed: 27th August 2019 13:39
  • Keywords: German Football Association DFB president Theo Zwanziger Swiss federal prosecutors indictment charges
  • Location: DIEZ & FRANKFURT, GERMANY / JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA / ZURICH, SWITZERLAND
  • City: DIEZ & FRANKFURT, GERMANY / JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA / ZURICH, SWITZERLAND
  • Country: Germany
  • Topics: Soccer,Sport
  • Reuters ID: LVA001AS1V51B
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: EDITORS PLEASE NOTE: THIS EDIT CONTAINS 4:3 MATERIAL
    EDITORS PLEASE NOTE: THE EDIT CONTAINS STILL IMAGES
    Former German Football Association (DFB) president Theo Zwanziger said on Tuesday (August 13) that he has filed a criminal complaint against Swiss federal prosecutors who had filed fraud charges against him and two more former soccer officials a week ago.
    Zwanziger, a lawyer by profession, told reporters in Diez (pron.: DEE-ts) the two investigators had "knowingly (made a) false interpretation of an evidence outcome," adding "the office of the Attorney General in Switzerland, together with FIFA, failed miserably."
    On August 6, Swiss federal prosecutors said they had filed fraud charges against three former senior German soccer officials and one Swiss over a suspect payment linked to the 2006 World Cup hosted by Germany.
    The indictment alleges Zwanziger and Wolfgang Niersbach, senior DFB official Horst Schmidt and former Swiss FIFA official Urs Linsi misled members of a DFB body about the true purpose of a payment of about 6.7 million euros ($7.5 million), a statement at the time said.
    The four men have denied any wrongdoing.
    In his remarks to reporters, Zwanziger accused former Asian Football Confederation president Mohammed Bin Hammam, a Qatari, of accepting the payment.
    Bin Hammam has since been banned for life from football (soccer) by FIFA, which accused him of paying bribes, charges he denied.
    "The investigations have revealed that in summer 2002 Franz Beckenbauer accepted a loan of 10 million Swiss francs in his own name and for his own account from Robert Louis-Dreyfus. This sum was used to fund various payments made via a Swiss law firm to a Qatari company belonging to Mohammed Bin Hammam," Switzerland's Attorney General's Office (OAG) said in its statement.
    At the time, Bin Hammam was a member of the FIFA Executive Committee and the FIFA Finance Committee.
    (Production: Andreas Buerger, Michele Sani)
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