Court criticizes DFB for “attempted influence”

In the summer fairy tale process in front of the Frankfurt district court, the presiding judge complained about the procedure of the German Football Association. Judge Eva-Marie Distler mentioned a letter from DFB treasurer Stephan Grunwald from late November 2024 to the general prosecutor’s office in Frankfurt. There the association asks for discussions with the highest tax authorities.

“This could be called an attempted influence on the local process,” said Distler. The DFB had justified its initiative by the fact that reliable financial planning had not been possible for years due to ongoing legal proceedings, and its charitable function could only be partially fulfilled.

Intended conversation “unusual”

A conversation with the chief prosecutor, chief finance directorate and the Hessian Ministry of Finance was therefore sought by the DFB. This is “very unusual in a German constitutional state,” said the presiding judge.

In the process opened in early March 2024, the three former DFB top officials Niersbach, Theo Zwanziger and Horst R. Schmidt originally had to be responsible for suspected tax evasion in a particularly severe case. The three accused have always strictly rejected the accusation. Twenties had always confirmed that he would attend the process to the end.

Niersbach for the first time as a witness

The proceedings against Niersbach was terminated against a monetary requirement of 25,000 euros, which separated from the former DFB general secretary Schmidt for health reasons in June. Niersbach performed as a witness for the first time. The 74-year-old was DFB President from 2012 to 2015.

In his first statements, the long -time top official emphasized that he was not involved in financial matters. He was also unable to say anything about the whereabouts of the ominous 6.7 million euros, even though he was friends with the late Franz Beckenbauer.

The background to the procedure is a payment of the DFB in April 2005 of 6.7 million euros to the World Association FIFA, which was inadmissible in the tax return for 2006 as the public prosecutor’s office. As a result, taxes of around 13.7 million euros were evaded.

FIFA had forwarded the 6.7 million euros only one day after the entrance to Robert Louis-Dreyfus. In 2002, the French entrepreneur transferred a loan of ten million Swiss francs to a Beckenbauer account.

This sum later ended up in a company account of the then FIFA Vice President, Mohamed bin Hammam, in Qatar. Why is still unclear.