GERMANY: GERMAN SATIRE MAGAZINE CLAIMS RESPONSIBILITY FOR HOAX LETTER SENT TO FIFA DELEGATES
Record ID:
646577
GERMANY: GERMAN SATIRE MAGAZINE CLAIMS RESPONSIBILITY FOR HOAX LETTER SENT TO FIFA DELEGATES
- Title: GERMANY: GERMAN SATIRE MAGAZINE CLAIMS RESPONSIBILITY FOR HOAX LETTER SENT TO FIFA DELEGATES
- Date: 9th July 2000
- Summary: FRANKFURT, GERMANY (JULY 7, 2000) (REUTERS) 1. EXTERIORS HEADQUARTERS GERMAN FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION (DFB) 2. HORST SCHMIDT, SECRETARY GENERAL DFB, IN FRONT OF MICROPHONES 3. SOUNDBITE (German) HORST SCHMIDT SAYING "We heard that an institution in Frankfurt which called itself a support committee for the German bid approached members of the FIFA executive committee with a letter faxed to their Zurich hotel. The letter said that if they were to support the German bid they would receive gifts. This report went around the world and especially the English media and we have been trying to find out since last night where this initiative originated. This afternoon it turned out it was a bad joke by the satire magazine Titanic. 4. TROPHY 5. SOUNDBITE (German) HORST SCHMIDT SAYING: "We will be looking into legal proceedings since this is an unacceptable joke. The consequences are obvious and this goes far beyond good taste. 6. SCHMIDT TALKING TO JOURNALISTS 7. SOUNDBITE (English) HORST SCHMIDT SAYING: Fortunately this afternoon we received the message from the agency dpa that behind this inititative is the newspaper Titanic and the first reaction is: we are happy that this is only a joke, a very bad joke indeed. But on the other hand I believe that with FIFA together we have to see what we should do further on because the raction worldwide was very bad for the DFB (German Football Association), for FIFA and also for the German bid." 8. CAMERA CREWS 9. EXTERIOR BUILDING HOUSING TITANIC NEWSROOM 10. MARTIN SONNEBORN, EDITOR IN CHIEF, TITANIC, ON PHONE 11. SOUNDBITE (German) MARTIN SONNEBORN SAYING: This is the official Germany 2006 bid and we thought that the official bid was pretty weak. There were a few well known people on stage showing the thumbs up sign without saying a word. That is when we at Titanic decided we needed to do something and we wrote faxes to seven committee members at their hotel. 12. PHOTOGRAPH ON WALL 13. SOUNDBITE (German) MARTIN SONNEBORN (asked whether he felt sorry for South Africa) SAYING: I would be very sorry because I would have liked to see the World Cup in South Africa because I believe the South Africans deserve it and because I am not thinking in economical terms. I dont think we should take full responsibility for this and I dont think we were the only ones to offer bribes and thats why we dont feel guilty. 14. WALL OF TITANIC COVERS 15. SOUNDBITE (German) MARTIN SONNEBORN (asked what kind of reaction he expected from the German Football Association) SAYING: I think we will receive a large gift basket from the German Football Association and maybe a thank you call or a symbolic gesture, a football or some tickets to a game since I believe our bid was much more professional than the one from DFB. Maybe it was us who made the difference although we are not the only ones responsible. 16. TITANIC FAX SENT TO FIFA MEMBER 17. SOUNDBITE (English) MARTIN SONNEBORN SAYING: The presentation of Franz Beckenbauer and our chancellor, Gerhard Schroeder, was not quite good and so we had to go on and make a presentation to get the World Cup. 18. SIGN ON DOOR 19. SOUNDBITE (English) MARTIN SONNEBORN SAYING: I am very sorry. Personally I wanted the World Cup in South Africa. I like Africa and they are good footballers. Not so Germany. But I think we offered the committee people some ham and some sausages. I can read you the fax I wrote to Mr. Chuck Blazer from FIFA. 20. SONNEBORN READING FAX 21. TITANIC COVERS Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
- Embargoed: 24th July 2000 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: FRANKFURT, GERMANY
- Country: Germany
- Reuters ID: LVAB3PC8M9U6ISA8MGIHOH00L0JG
- Story Text: A German satire magazine claimed responsibility on
Friday for a hoax letter to FIFA delegates which has been at
the centre of a row over how favourites South Africa lost the race
to Germany to host the 2006 World Cup.
The editor-in-chief of the monthly Titanic, Martin
Sonneborn, told Reuters that his staff had, late on Wednesday,
faxed seven members of the 24-member FIFA executive committee
which took the surprise decision at their Zurich hotel.
Sonneborn said the letter offered gifts in return for votes
for Germany. Hotel staff had slid the faxes under delegates
doors around midnight, he said.
Sonneborn said that among those who were sent the letters
was New Zealander Charles Dempsey, whose surprise abstention
swung the decision Germanys way by one vote on Thursday.
Some letters offered the promise of a small gift if the
recipient called a certain telephone number while others
specified that a yes-vote for Germany would secure a fine
basket of specialities from the Black Forest, he said.
Among the German produce to tempt the delegates was sausage,
ham and a cuckoo clock, he added.
Meanwhile, the secretary general of Germanys soccer
federation (DFB), Horst Schmidt, said that DFB would be
looking into legal proceedings against Titanic since this is an
unacceptable joke. The consequences are obvious and this goes
far beyond good taste.
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