Latest news with #WorldCup2006
Arab News
2 hours ago
- Business
- Arab News
German Court fines FA over 2026 World Cup-related payment
FRANKFURT: A German Court on Wednesday fined the German Football Association (DFB) just over 100,000 euros in relation to a World Cup 2006-related payment which had been at the heart of a years-long scandal that tarnished the reputation of the tournament. For the latest updates, follow us @ArabNewsSport The DFB said it took note of Frankfurt Regional Court's decision on Wednesday, adding that an appeal was possible but it would first study the written verdict once published. The case regarding a payment of 6.7 million euros ($7.8 million) made two decades ago damaged the image of the global showpiece event held in Germany. At the heart of the case that dragged through the legal system and involved several other separate investigations is the payment linked to a 2006 World Cup-related event that never took place. 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. 'According to the ruling, the court assumes that the DFB fully declared and taxed its income from the 2006 World Cup. However, it believes that the 6.7 million euros should have been deducted for tax purposes in 2002, not in 2006,' the DFB said in a statement. 'The Regional Court imposed a fine of 130,000 euros on the DFB because it ruled in isolation on the year 2006 and did not take into account the excessive tax paid for 2002,' the DFB said. 'The DFB only has to pay 110,000 euros because the court deducted 20,000 euros due to the excessive length of the proceedings. In April, the same court had discharged former DFB President Theo Zwanziger after ordering him to pay a 10,000-euro fine. The payment in question had triggered investigations over allegations it had been used as a slush fund to buy votes in favor 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. The tournament was nicknamed the 'summer fairytale' because of the home team's run to the semifinals, and the sold-out stadiums and outdoor viewing areas across the country which attracted hundreds of thousands of fans.
CNA
5 hours ago
- Business
- CNA
German Court fines FA over 2006 World Cup-related payment
(Repeats story changing year to 2006 in headline) FRANKFURT, Germany :A German Court on Wednesday fined the German Football Association (DFB) just over 100,000 euros in relation to a World Cup 2006-related payment which had been at the heart of a years-long scandal that tarnished the reputation of the tournament. The DFB said it took note of Frankfurt Regional Court's decision on Wednesday, adding that an appeal was possible but it would first study the written verdict once published. The case regarding a payment of 6.7 million euros ($7.8 million) made two decades ago damaged the image of the global showpiece event held in Germany. At the heart of the case that dragged through the legal system and involved several other separate investigations is the payment linked to a 2006 World Cup-related event that never took place. 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. "According to the ruling, the court assumes that the DFB fully declared and taxed its income from the 2006 World Cup. However, it believes that the 6.7 million euros should have been deducted for tax purposes in 2002, not in 2006," the DFB said in a statement. "The Regional Court imposed a fine of 130,000 euros on the DFB because it ruled in isolation on the year 2006 and did not take into account the excessive tax paid for 2002," the DFB said. "The DFB only has to pay 110,000 euros because the court deducted 20,000 euros due to the excessive length of the proceedings. In April, the same court had discharged former DFB President Theo Zwanziger after ordering him to pay a 10,000-euro fine. The payment in question had 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. The tournament was 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. ($1 = 0.8621 euros)
CNA
8 hours ago
- Business
- CNA
German Court fines FA over 2026 World Cup-related payment
FRANKFURT, Germany :A German Court on Wednesday fined the German Football Association (DFB) just over 100,000 euros in relation to a World Cup 2006-related payment which had been at the heart of a years-long scandal that tarnished the reputation of the tournament. The DFB said it took note of Frankfurt Regional Court's decision on Wednesday, adding that an appeal was possible but it would first study the written verdict once published. The case regarding a payment of 6.7 million euros ($7.8 million) made two decades ago damaged the image of the global showpiece event held in Germany. At the heart of the case that dragged through the legal system and involved several other separate investigations is the payment linked to a 2006 World Cup-related event that never took place. 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. "According to the ruling, the court assumes that the DFB fully declared and taxed its income from the 2006 World Cup. However, it believes that the 6.7 million euros should have been deducted for tax purposes in 2002, not in 2006," the DFB said in a statement. "The Regional Court imposed a fine of 130,000 euros on the DFB because it ruled in isolation on the year 2006 and did not take into account the excessive tax paid for 2002," the DFB said. "The DFB only has to pay 110,000 euros because the court deducted 20,000 euros due to the excessive length of the proceedings. In April, the same court had discharged former DFB President Theo Zwanziger after ordering him to pay a 10,000-euro fine. The payment in question had 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. The tournament was 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. ($1 = 0.8621 euros)
Reuters
8 hours ago
- Business
- Reuters
German Court fines FA over 2026 World Cup-related payment
FRANKFURT, Germany, June 25 (Reuters) - A German Court on Wednesday fined the German Football Association (DFB) just over 100,000 euros in relation to a World Cup 2006-related payment which had been at the heart of a years-long scandal that tarnished the reputation of the tournament. The DFB said it took note of Frankfurt Regional Court's decision on Wednesday, adding that an appeal was possible but it would first study the written verdict once published. The case regarding a payment of 6.7 million euros ($7.8 million) made two decades ago damaged the image of the global showpiece event held in Germany. At the heart of the case that dragged through the legal system and involved several other separate investigations is the payment linked to a 2006 World Cup-related event that never took place. 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. "According to the ruling, the court assumes that the DFB fully declared and taxed its income from the 2006 World Cup. However, it believes that the 6.7 million euros should have been deducted for tax purposes in 2002, not in 2006," the DFB said in a statement. "The Regional Court imposed a fine of 130,000 euros on the DFB because it ruled in isolation on the year 2006 and did not take into account the excessive tax paid for 2002," the DFB said. "The DFB only has to pay 110,000 euros because the court deducted 20,000 euros due to the excessive length of the proceedings. In April, the same court had discharged former DFB President Theo Zwanziger after ordering him to pay a 10,000-euro fine. The payment in question had 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. The tournament was 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. ($1 = 0.8621 euros)
Yahoo
8 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
German FA fined by court in 2006 World Cup payment affair
Flags with the logo of the German Football Federation (DFB) fly outside the RheinEnergie stadium. Fabian Strauch/dpa The German Football Federation (DFB) was fined €110,000 ($128,000) for tax evasion by a Frankfurt court on Wednesday, in a trial relating to a payment around the 2006 World Cup. Frankfurt district court judge Eva-Marie Distler spoke of a high criminal energy from the DFB but did not follow the prosecution which wanted the DFB to pay €270,000. Advertisement "In the opinion of the chamber, there is no doubt that the DFB evaded taxes, and that the parties involved condoned this", Distler said, adding that the DFB made "a catastrophic impression" in its reappraisal of the affair. The DFB was officially ordered to pay €130,000, but €20,000 were waived due to a delay in proceedings contrary to the rule of law. The case centred on a payment of €6.7 million the DFB sent via the ruling body FIFA to the late French businessman Robert Louis-Dreyfus in 2005. Louis-Dreyfus had earlier sent a loan of 10 million Swiss francs to World Cup organizer Franz Beckenbauer. The sum then arrived in an account of now disgraced FIFA top official Mohamed bin Hammam of Qatar - for reasons not known. Advertisement The DFB said the €6.7 million were for a World Cup gala event, which never took place, and put them down as operating expenses in 2006. That eventually led to the trial because the public prosecutor's office named this inadmissible and said that the DFB evaded €2.7 million in taxes. DFB lawyer Jan Olaf Leisner said that even though it was a concealed repayment, it could still be classified as a business expense, and thus no tax evasion took place. Naming the DFB "the loser" in the case, Distler said it could have come clean via a voluntary disclosure in 2015, when the affair broke, but that this was not the case. Advertisement "The clocks tick differently at the DFB. Lawyers' fees are being produced there in astronomical amounts. Responsibility is externalised by those responsible. Nobody must expect repercussions," Distler said. Distler accused the DFB of a massive lack of interest in clarifying the events. "No representative of the DFB took part in either the investigation or the trial. You have to ask: do they not take the justice system seriously?" she said. The judge urged the current DFB leadership to establish "a culture of looking and not looking away" in the future. Former DFB presidents Theo Zwanziger and Wolfgang Niersbach and ex secretary-general Horst R Schmidt were also defendants in the case along with the DFB as an entity. Advertisement But they all paid sums to charity to have their cases dropped due to the complex nature of who knew what and when. The trio had consistently denied tax evasion. "All three acted with the common will that the true reason for the payment should not be publicised, but concealed," Distler said.
