FIFA ends probe against Beckenbauer, others

FIFA has ended its proceedings against World Cup 2006 organiser Franz Beckenbauer and two other former officials because of a statute of limitations, football’s rulling body said on Thursday.

A Swiss court had ended their probe against German Football Federation (DFB) officials including former president Theo Zwanziger and ex-secretary general Horst R Schmidt for the same reason last April.

“The adjudicatory chamber of the independent Ethics Committee has ruled that the conduct of Franz Beckenbauer, Theo Zwanziger and Horst R Schmidt in connection with the 2006 World Cup cannot be prosecuted due to the expiry of the applicable limitation period for prosecution,” a statement said.

FIFA said its investigatory chamber ruled they had violated FIFA bribery and corruption rules around a payment of 10 million Swiss francs in 2002.

The payment was on behalf of or by the 2006 organising committee in 2002 to former official Mohammed bin Hammam of Qatar.

It remains unclear why the payment was made.

But the adjudicatory chamber said the relevant limitation period had expired in 2012 for Beckenbauer, and in 2015 for Zwanziger and Schmidt.

The German officials have always protested their innocence in the case, and Zwanziger expressed criticism on the whole proceedings after the FIFA announcement.

“The whole thing was absurd and arbitrary from the start,” Zwanziger said of the FIFA investigation that started in 2016.

He attacked FIFA and its president Gianni Infantino and said that Thursday’s ruling “an embarrassment” for them.