Raid on DFB over alleged bribery at Euro 2024
Officers stormed the German Football Association's headquarters and additional buildings. The focus is on allegations that municipal officials received unauthorised benefits at the European Championship.
Raid on DFB over alleged bribery at Euro 2024
Investigators from the Bochum state prosecution office and North Rhine-Westphalian police searched the Frankfurt headquarters of the German Football Association (DFB) and numerous other locations across the country on Tuesday. The reason is allegations of corruption surrounding the football European Championship held in the previous year.
The investigators accuse the suspects of granting municipal employees of host cities unauthorised benefits. According to them, these included match tickets and preferential access to ticket sales. In a joint statement, it was stated that there is suspicion "that a suspect person who was employed by a host city at the time received unauthorised favours from organisers".
The DFB confirmed the measure at its headquarters. However, the association emphasised that neither the institution nor individual employees were the target of the investigation. It was merely involved as a witness and would be fully available to the authorities.
The tournament was organised by Euro 2024 GmbH, a co-operation between the DFB and the European Football Union UEFA. Spain won the title.
The Bild newspaper reported that in addition to the association's headquarters, town halls in Berlin, Hamburg, Cologne, Stuttgart and Munich as well as company buildings were in the sights of the investigators. Over 150 police officers were deployed during the morning operations.
According to information from the newspaper, the investigations are directed against a 66-year-old German and a 46-year-old Frenchman. The older suspect is said to have accepted tickets, accommodation and travel allowances worth approximately 2,400 euros as an employee of the city of Gelsenkirchen during Euro. Additionally, there are said to have been internal distributions of "several thousand tickets" to privileged recipients.
North Rhine-Westphalia's Interior Minister Herbert Reul made sharp comments about the allegations: anyone in public service who holds out their hand must expect a visit from prosecutors. Major events such as a European Championship are built on the trust of citizens – both in sport itself and in the state institutions that make such events possible. This trust must not be undermined by invitations and entry tickets.
Source: The Guardian
Source: Google News UK — Crime (en)