The former Bayern Munich great, who captained and coached Germany to separate World Cup titles, was the 2006 bid’s leading figure and later the president of the organizing committee.Fifa is also said to be investigating the payments, which is probably the last thing the football world would wish for.
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“We appeal to him to bring himself more closely into the explanation of what happened”, said Rainer Koch, one of the two caretaker presidents who took over after Niersbach’s resignation.
“We can confirm that Mr Niersbach has informed FIFA that he will remain in his functions as a member of the FIFA Executive Committee”, said FIFA in a statement to Reuters.
The DFB said there was no financial offer in the contract, which was never fulfilled, but has urged Beckenbauer, who has not commented on the latest document, to provide answers.
The Süddeutsche Zeitung and Bild reported on Tuesday that Beckenbauer’s signature was on a draft contract with Warner, promising favours shortly before the vote on the hosts of the 2006 World Cup.
The 64-year-old, formerly spokesman and then general secretary of the DFB, said he was taking the “political responsibility” for the scandal, which has tarnished the reputation of the world’s biggest national soccer federation.
At the centre of the scandal is a 6.7 million-euro ($7.2m) payment, which is alleged to have been used to purchase the support of FIFA’s executive committee.
Beckenbauer was not suspected of tax evasion and was not part of the Frankfurt prosecutor’s office probe, officials have said. “But he needs to answer questions”, said German MP Oezcan Mutlu, who is a member of the parliamentary committee on sport. “It’s not just about the cash”.
During the 2006 World Cup, German media often reported on the VIPs with: “German Chancellor Angela Merkel, German President Horst Koehler and Franz Beckenbauer attended last night’s game”.
“It is therefore even more depressing and painful for me that nine years later, I am confronted with procedures of which I was not a part of and which leave many questions unanswered for me”.
“As it stands now, the suspicions keep growing and growing”.
German football federation (DFB) interim president Reinhard Rauball doesn’t expect a quick end of the crisis around the 2006 World Cup while Bayern Munich chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge has voiced support for beleaguered Franz Beckenbauer.
“A lot of people put in money – I believe Birmingham City Council put in £250,00, for instance – so when all that stuff came out from Blatter, we said “Let’s go and talk to our lawyers” because we needed to work out what was the legal basis for getting our money back, if you can, and we went to a QC”.
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FIFA’s secretary general Jerome Valcke – Blatter’s No. 2 – has also been suspended for 90 days, having earlier been put on leave following allegations surrounding bribes in South Africa’s staging of the 2010 World Cup and the resale of tournament tickets above face value.
