DFB Fined for Tax Evasion in 2006 World Cup Scandal

The German Football Association (DFB) has been ordered to pay a fine related to alleged tax evasion stemming from the organization of the 2006 FIFA World Cup. Prosecutors claimed that the DFB had evaded approximately EUR2.7 million in taxes, describing the case as particularly severe due to the significant levels of criminal intent involved. The prosecution called for a penalty of EUR270,000.

In response, the DFB's defense team dismissed the allegations of willful tax evasion as baseless and sought an acquittal. However, the court sided with the prosecution, stating that there was no doubt regarding the DFB's tax evasion. The ruling highlighted a "catastrophic image" of the DFB's handling of the affair.

Of the imposed fine, EUR20,000 was waived due to the lengthy duration of the legal proceedings, which spanned almost ten years and included 34 court sessions that began in March 2024. The case revolves around a payment of EUR6.7 million made by the DFB to FIFA in April 2005, which was funneled through the former Adidas CEO Robert Louis-Dreyfus. This payment was related to a sum of 10 million Swiss francs that Franz Beckenbauer, the World Cup chief, had received from a French entrepreneur in 2002.

The court has established that this money was intended to facilitate a bribe to corrupt members of the FIFA Finance Committee, ensuring that the DFB would receive a World Cup subsidy of EUR170 million from FIFA. The DFB had disguised the repayment of this loan as a contribution to a planned World Cup opening gala, which was ultimately canceled, and later labeled it as an operational expense.

None of the three initial defendants remain on trial, as the cases against former DFB officials Theo Zwanziger, Wolfgang Niersbach, and Horst R. Schmidt were settled through the payment of fines. Zwanziger was fined EUR10,000, Niersbach EUR25,000, and Schmidt EUR65,000.

In the aftermath of the scandal, the DFB lost its tax-exempt status retroactively and was required to pay back EUR22 million in taxes. The organization plans to appeal for a refund of its tax payments at the Kassel Financial Court. Additionally, the DFB has taken legal action against former President Zwanziger to seek potential damages.