German FA fined in World Cup tax evasion case
A logo is pictured at the headquarters of the German Football Federation (DFB) in Frankfurt am Main, western Germany, on November 3, 2015. The German Football Association (DFB) was fined 130,000 euros on June 25, 2025 by a German court in a case of tax fraud linked to the organization of the 2006 World Cup in Germany. (Photo by DANIEL ROLAND / AFP)
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At the centre of the case was a payment of 6.7 million euros to the organising committee for the tournament in Germany.
In its annual accounts, the DFB claimed the money was to cover the costs of a World Cup gala, but the event never took place.
According to the Frankfurt regional court, the funds were used by the late 2006 World Cup president and German footballing legend Franz Beckenbauer to bribe members of FIFA's finance committee.
DFB officials intended the payments to secure a 170-million-euro grant from the global footballing body.
The money was paid by the organising committee via FIFA to Robert Louis-Dreyfus, the former CEO of German sportswear giant Adidas.
Louis-Dreyfus had allegedly already paid the same amount three years earlier to members of the finance committee headed by Qatari Mohamed bin Hammam.
DFB bosses had "handled undeclared payments and supported FIFA's corrupt system", Judge Eva-Marie Distler said.
Three DFB officials were directly implicated in the case but none remained in the dock at the end of the trial.
Proceedings against Horst Schmidt, and former DFB presidents Wolfgang Niersbach and Theo Zwanziger, were dropped after they paid fines ranging from 10,000 to 65,000 euros.
Beckenbauer died last year before the trial began.
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