2026 World Cup scandal: His name is Sepp Blatter, he knows nothing and finds it ridiculous anyway

Scandal surrounding the 2006 World Cup His name is Sepp Blatter, he knows nothing and finds it ridiculous anyway 26.02.2025, 11:27

Even 19 years after the World Cup in Germany, the judiciary is still dealing with a dubious payment of 6.7 million euros. A key figure in solving the case could be former FIFA boss Sepp Blatter. However, he says he has no idea what is going on.

Shortly before his eagerly awaited appearance as a witness in the "Summer Fairytale" trial, Joseph S. Blatter denied any involvement in the scandal surrounding the 2006 World Cup in Germany. "I don't know what I can contribute to the proceedings," the former president of the world association FIFA told the sports information service: "FIFA's role was simply to pass on the money from the DFB to Robert Louis-Dreyfus. FIFA was just a banker."

The 88-year-old Blatter will testify this Thursday via video link to the Swiss capital Bern before the Frankfurt/Main Regional Court. The trial is dealing with the dubious payment flows surrounding the final round almost 19 years ago. Recently, the statements of several witnesses suggested that Blatter could play a central role in the affair.

The focus is on a meeting between Blatter and the German World Cup boss Franz Beckenbauer in December 2001 at FIFA headquarters in Zurich. According to statements by World Cup officials at the time, the immediate aftermath of the conversation was the first time the ominous 6.7 million euros were discussed. "I have no memories of this specific conversation," said Blatter: "I had a lot of conversations with Franz Beckenbauer during my time as FIFA president."

"This is really absolutely ridiculous"

After the meeting between Blatter and Beckenbauer, the former scandal-ridden official Mohamed bin Hammam, a member of the FIFA Finance Committee at the time, came forward. The 6.7 million euros were paid into his account. During the trial, there was repeated talk of a "commission" for the World Cup grant of 170 million euros that FIFA ultimately awarded.

However, the 6.7 million euros that former Adidas boss Robert Louis-Dreyfus apparently transferred to Bin Hammam as a loan to Beckenbauer never ended up in the coffers of the world association. The sum was repaid to Louis-Dreyfus in 2005 by the German organizing committee via FIFA. The German Football Association (DFB) recorded this in 2006 as a business expense for a World Cup gala that was cancelled. The public prosecutor's office considers this to be tax evasion amounting to 13.7 million euros.

What the 6.7 million euros were actually used for is still unclear. For years there has been speculation about alleged campaign financing for Blatter in 2002. The Swiss vehemently denies this. "I can only laugh at the idea that my election campaign was financed with this money. It is really absolutely ridiculous," said Blatter. "I don't know what the money was paid for."