German bosses deny slush funds
Print Edition
The German football federation president denied again yesterday that German bidders used a slush fund to buy votes to secure the 2006 World Cup, while acknowledging that it remains unexplained what the money was used for.
German weekly Der Spiegel reported on Friday that a 10.3-million Swiss francs (US$6 million at that time) slush fund was set up to buy the votes of four Asian representatives on the FIFA executive committee.
“There were no slush funds,” German federation president Wolfgang Niersbach said yesterday. “There was no vote-buying.”
“But the question must be asked why was this transfer made,” he added.
German prosecutors are examining whether there are grounds to open an investigation into the allegations.
Nadja Niesen, a spokeswoman for Frankfurt prosecutors, said fraud, breach of trust or corruption were possible offenses that might be investigated, news agency dpa reported yesterday. Niesen couldn’t say when the examination of whether there is a case will be concluded.
Bid committee leader Franz Beckenbauer says he never had money given to anyone to buy votes.
Niersbach, who was also a senior member of the German bid committee, said that Germany ran an honest bid.
“We conducted the bid with honest means, and ultimately decided (the contest) with honest means for us, for Germany, for German football on July 6, 2000 in Zurich,” Niersbach said at an event at the German Football Museum in Dortmund.
A federation panel is investigating the case, as well as an “internationally respected” law firm, but Niersbach could not say how long the probe would last. “We would all prefer that it would be concluded as quickly as possible,” he said.
“But the main allegation ... the slush fund, we deny categorically. It’s wrong.”
Meanwhile, Michel Platini said the 2 million Swiss francs (US$2.1 million) he received from FIFA, a payment which has cast a cloud over his bid to become president of the world football body, was legitimate reward for genuine work.
In an interview with Le Monde published yesterday, the head of Europe’s powerful UEFA football federation reaffirmed his determination to run for the top job and said the money was for work he did for FIFA President Sepp Blatter from 1998 to 2002.
Most of the payment, which is being investigated by the Swiss authorities, was only made in 2011. Both Blatter and Platini have denied any wrongdoing over the affair, just one of the controversies roiling the scandal-plagued FIFA.
Platini provided an extensive account of how that advisory work and related payments were agreed with Blatter, telling the paper he had never been good with finances and that he had even short-changed himself in the case in question.
Platini said he had asked for 1 million francs a year for the work which included reform of the global competitions calendar, work on subsidies for the poorest federations, funding for football projects and a lot of travel with Blatter.
“I’ve not used lawyers or negotiating agents for ages,” the former French soccer star told Le Monde. “It was a man-to-man thing.”
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