Dhe mood in the German Football Association (DFB) delegation was already bad when they set off on their return journey from North America on the night of Tuesday to Wednesday. But she probably had no idea that she would be confronted with the next tricky major construction site almost as soon as she landed. The embarrassing early end of the World Cup and all sorts of other association-political conflicts are now being joined by more criminal justice activities. The topic this time: a suspicion of corruption in connection with the 2024 European Football Championship.
As the Bochum public prosecutor’s office and the Cologne State Criminal Police Office announced in a joint statement, they are investigating the “suspicion of accepting and granting advantages” surrounding the allocation of tickets to this tournament. There were searches at several locations across Germany on Wednesday, including the city administrations of the host cities at the time and several companies in North Rhine-Westphalia and Bavaria, as well as the DFB headquarters. At first had Bild reported about it.
According to the investigators, the core issue is “allegedly granted, unauthorized advantages (…) which a defendant who was then working for a host city is said to have received from those responsible for this at the organizing company” – among other things in the form of a visit to an international match. In addition, “the host cities were also said to have been offered exclusive pre-emption rights for tickets by those responsible in this regard for the organizing company, some of which were taken up by the host cities and used in different ways.”
The 2024 European Championship was held in ten cities: the opening game took place in Munich, the final in Berlin, and Dortmund, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Gelsenkirchen, Hamburg, Cologne, Leipzig and Stuttgart also hosted games. The tournament was organized by Euro 2024 GmbH. This company was a joint venture between the DFB and the European Football Union (Uefa).
Representatives of North Rhine-Westphalia state politics are announcing tough action
The focus of the investigation is a 66-year-old employee of a city administration at a North Rhine-Westphalia venue and a 46-year-old who worked for Euro 2024 GmbH. The city administration employee is said to have been invited to the semi-final game between Spain and France in Munich and thereby gained a financial advantage. Investigators are now obviously checking whether this pattern has been used more often and in other cities. In any case, the Euro-GmbH employee is likely to be the key figure in these investigations; The topic will probably cause some shocks in the associations.
The representatives of North Rhine-Westphalia state politics announced tough action. “A football ticket is not part of your salary. Anyone who holds out a hand in the public service will receive a visit from us,” said Interior Minister Herbert Reul (CDU). Major events such as the European Football Championship depend on people’s trust in sport and in the authorities. “We won’t allow this trust to be damaged by a few invitations and tickets. The suspicion is serious, and that’s exactly why it is being consistently investigated,” said Reul. The investigators worked “thoroughly, objectively and without regard for the person”.
In recent years, the DFB and all sorts of its officials have repeatedly been the victims of public prosecutor’s investigations and, in some cases, even court cases. The legal hassle surrounding major home tournaments in particular has now become a tradition. A little more than ten years ago, the disreputable million-dollar scams surrounding the 2006 World Cup were exposed, which have not yet been solved to this day. Last year, the Frankfurt regional court sentenced the DFB to a fine for tax evasion, and the Federal Court of Justice in Karlsruhe will soon take care of the matter because the DFB has filed an appeal.
But there was also extensive judicial activity in the ticket area around the 2006 World Cup. The Munich public prosecutor’s office investigated on suspicion of bribery in business transactions or breach of trust because more than 50,000 tickets had ended up on the black market. The accused always denied the allegations. There were no charges and the proceedings were discontinued in May 2015 against payment of a fine in accordance with Section 153a.
Now the question is whether the new investigation will end similarly lightly for the two accused – and also for the DFB.