Soccer-Case closed against former German FA chief over 2006 World Cup payment
FILE PHOTO: Former DFB German soccer federation president Theo Zwanziger faces trial for tax fraud amounting to 13.7 million euros for the benefit of the DFB in connection with the 2006 World Cup hosted by Germany, in Frankfurt, Germany, April 29, 2024. Arne Dedert/Pool via REUTERS/ File Photo
FRANKFURT, Germany (Reuters) - A years-long legal case against former German Football Association (DFB) President Theo Zwanziger over a multi-million euro payment linked to the 2006 World Cup ended on Wednesday in a Frankfurt court.
The case regarding a payment of 6.7 million euros ($7.6 million) made two decades ago tarnished the image of the global showpiece event held in Germany.
The tournament had been nicknamed the "summer fairytale" because of the home team's run to the semi-finals, and the sold-out stadiums and outdoor viewing areas across the country which attracted hundreds of thousands of fans.
The scandal also dented the reputation of the DFB, the world's largest single sports federation with more than seven million active members.
Frankfurt's regional court on Wednesday closed the case, ordering Zwanziger to pay a 10,000-euro fine and officially discharging him.
This means there will be no verdict and legal proceedings against the former DFB chief are over.
"I am happy with the decision and I can now walk with my head held high," Zwanziger told reporters.
At the heart of a case that dragged through the legal system and involved several other separate investigations is a payment of 6.7 million euros linked to a 2006 World Cup-related event that never took place.
Zwanziger, his successor Wolfgang Niersbach, who resigned as DFB president in 2015 as a result of the affair, and former Secretary General Horst Schmidt had all been accused of arranging for incorrect tax returns submitted for 2006 to enable the DFB to avoid paying millions in taxes.
None of the three accused were found guilty, with the cases against Niersbach and Schmidt having been closed earlier.
The tax return included a 6.7 million euro payment from the DFB to world soccer's governing body FIFA for the 2006 World Cup, although the funds were actually used for another purpose and should not have been offset against tax, prosecutors had said.
The payment triggered investigations over allegations it had been used as a slush fund to buy votes in favour of Germany's bid to host the 2006 tournament.
A DFB-commissioned investigation in 2016 had said the sum was the return of a loan via FIFA from former Adidas chief Robert Louis-Dreyfus.
The German tax office ordered the DFB in 2017 to pay more than 20 million euros in back taxes related to the year 2006.
($1 = 0.8794 euros)
(Reporting by Karolos Grohmann, editing by Ed Osmond)
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