Report: Germany swung 2006 WC vote with bribes

Ex-FIFA President Sepp Blatter, left, and German Organization Committee President Franz Beckenbauer. (Markus Schreiber/AP)

Yet another World Cup is at the centre of the FIFA scandal.

This time it’s the 2006 World Cup hosted by Germany, as revealed by English newspaper Daily Mail, who are reporting that ex-German chancellor Gerhard Schroder allegedly sent rocket-propelled grenades to Saudi Arabia in order to persuade them to vote for Germany in 2000.

The Germans ended up winning the overall vote 12-11 over South Africa to host the World Cup six years later. Volkswagen, Daimler and Bayer also promised that they’d invest heavily in Thailand and South Korea.

This sheds some light on the $10 million bribe that South African officials paid to former FIFA vice president Jack Warner for 2010 World Cup bidding votes. Secretary general Jerome Valcke allegedly authorized the payment.

Ex-FIFA executive Chuck Blazer also spilled the beans on the 2010 World Cup as well as the 1998 edition of the tournament.

The FBI also announced that it will be investigating the 2014, 2018 and 2022 World Cup bidding processes.

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