"The Saga of the Suspect World Cup" Trial Nears Its End Unanswered
"Summer Tale Verdict Approaching Rapidly, Likely to be Hissed Out Without Fanfare"
The courthouse murmurs with whispers of Financial Deceptions and gymnastics of power, echoing back to the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany. This ongoing trial centers around a tantalizing query: Was money funneled from Germany to sway votes? The trial may swiftly conclude, leaving this compelling question hanging in the balance.
The trial is poised for a hasty, unspectacular close: The presiding chamber of the Frankfurt/Main Regional Court seeks to dismiss charges against the remaining defendant, Theo Zwanziger, with a fine of 5,000 euros. Both the prosecution and defense will announce their opinions on the proposal by the court date on April 3.
In the court's view, the 79-year-old Zwanziger failed to actively collaborate in concealing a DFB payment of 6.7 million euros to FIFA in April 2005.
"I'll mull it over," Zwanziger said. "I'll consult with my legal eagle and my kin." The trial, under the chairmanship of Judge Eva-Marie Distler, examines the murky money trails surrounding the 2006 FIFA World Cup. At the crux of it all are the enigmatic 6.7 million euros, which the German Football Association (DFB) declared as an operating expense for a gala.
Sporting Fiasco in the Nations League: European Championship Sees a Hack and a Struggle: Germans Squeak into the Semifinals The money was reportedly transferred in 2005 by the World Cup managing committee via FIFA to the former Adidas CEO Robert Louis-Dreyfus. The same sum had flowed three years earlier in the form of advance payments by German World Cup chief Franz Beckenbauer and Louis-Dreyfus to the former FIFA scandal functionary Mohamed bin Hammam, to Qatar.
Vote-buying? Not Impossible...
The DFB recorded this as an operating expense for a World Cup gala that was canceled in 2006 under then-president Zwanziger. The prosecution deems this tax evasion worth 13.7 million euros. Consequently, the association's tax-exempt status was revoked retroactively, and the DFB had to shell out 22 million euros in back taxes. The DFB's booking of the expense as an operating expense was apparently on the up and up at the time. "The wrong man sits in the dock with Theo Zwanziger," opined Distler.
What the 6.7 million euros were used for is clear, according to the court: They were a bribe paid by Beckenbauer for the DFB to one or more members of the then FIFA finance commission to secure the eventual 170 million euro World Cup grant from FIFA. However, the court considers it possible that this was a vote-buying tactic for the World Cup allocation in 2000.
Athletics Langhoff on the 3:3 against Italy "A second half like this needs to never happen to the German team again" Only Zwanziger sits in the dock in Frankfurt/Main. Originally, the former DFB president Wolfgang Niersbach and the former general secretary Horst R. Schmidt also faced trial. All three deny the allegations. The case against Niersbach was dismissed with a payment of 25,000 euros to charitable organizations. Schmidt will undergo a separate trial due to health concerns.
Sources: ntv.de, ter/sid
- DFB
- German National Football Team
Enrichment Insights:- The "Fairytale" trial, or the scandal surrounding the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany, involves concerns of vote-buying by the German Football Association (DFB) to secure the hosting rights for the tournament.- The scandal emerged in 2015 when German news organizations reported on a payment of €6.7 million that could be connected to possible vote-buying.- Investigations followed, leading to several officials being scrutinized, including Wolfgang Niersbach, who resigned as DFB president.- The current status of the trial or recent developments are not widely reported in recent media.
- Despite the ongoing trial centering around financial deceptions in the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany, the remaining defendant, Theo Zwanziger, faces a fine of 5,000 euros as the court believes he failed to actively collaborate in concealing a DFB payment.
- The enigmatic 6.7 million euros at the heart of the trial were apparently transfered in 2005 by the World Cup managing committee via FIFA to the former Adidas CEO, Robert Louis-Dreyfus, raising questions of vote-buying.
- The German community, shaken by the ongoing saga of the suspect World Cup trial, keeps a close eye on the proceeding, and the possible implications for vocational training for future sporting leaders.
