The president of the German football federation resigned on Monday over a suspect payment to FIFA, saying that he was taking “political responsibility” despite not having done anything wrong.
The payment in connection with the 2006 World Cup in Germany has led to a tax evasion probe against Wolfgang Niersbach (in pic) and two other former top-ranking federation (DFB) officials.
“I have realised myself that that the time has come to take political responsibility for the events around the 2006 World Cup ... (although) I can say that I worked there absolutely cleanly and conscientiously,” Niersbach told reporters after an emergency meeting of the board.
Frankfurt prosecutors are investigating a payment of 6.7 million euros ($7.22 million) the federation made to FIFA in connection with the 2006 tournament.
Niersbach, who has been the president of the federation (DFB) since 2012, is also a member of the executive committee of both FIFA and UEFA. He had been seen as a possible successor to Michel Platini as UEFA president.
Rainer Koch and Reinhard Rauball, two DFB vice presidents, will jointly take over in a caretaker position and said they wanted Niersbach to continue working in the international bodies. The board had no power to dismiss Niersbach, who stressed that the resignation was a personal decision.
The 64-year-old Niersbach said he was stepping down “with a heavy heart” and “I can say in good conscience that I have nothing to reproach myself” with over the payment at the center of the case.
Niersbach was a high-ranking member of the 2006 World Cup organizing committee in charge of media and marketing and said in a statement released late Monday that he had not been involved in the payment and did not know about it.
His predecessor, Theo Zwanziger, had accused Niersbach of lying and said he was aware of the payments. Zwanziger also said that Germany used funds to buy votes for its successful bid for the 2006 World Cup, an allegation denied by Niersbach.