German FA chief Niersbach quits over World Cup scandal

Wolfgang Niersbach (L), President of the German Football Federation (DFB), delivers a statement to announce his resignation next to Reinhard Rauball, Vice President of the DFB and President of the German Football League (DFL) in Frankfurt am Main, central Germany. (AFP PHOTO/DANIEL ROLAND)

BERLIN: German football federation chief Wolfgang Niersbach said on Monday (Nov 9) he was stepping down, taking "political responsibility" for graft claims related to the 2006 World Cup but admitting no personal guilt.

"I was there from the first day of the bid for the 2006 FIFA World Cup all the way to the final film of the 'summer fairytale' and have worked throughout all the years ... in a clean, reliable and correct manner," he said.

"In my assigned areas of marketing, media, accreditations and event organisation, I can say with a clear conscience that I am personally beyond reproach," he added.

"It's all the more depressing and painful for me to be confronted, nine years later, with transactions that I was not involved in and which leave many questions open for me," said Niersbach.

Vice-presidents Reinhard Rauball and Rainer Koch are taking over as co-chiefs of the German football federation DFB.

German football has been turned upside down by the storm unleashed by a report in magazine Spiegel last month which alleged that a 6.7-million-euro ($7.2-million) payment made by the DFB to FIFA was used to buy votes in order to secure the hosting of the 2006 World Cup.

The scandal took a dramatic twist last week with police carrying out raids at DFB headquarters and prosecutors revealing that three men - including the DFB chief - were being investigated for serious tax fraud surrounding the FIFA payment.

In his statement, Niersbach insisted that he had "no knowledge of the background of the transactions in question".

He said his 27 years at the DFB, first as media chief before moving up the chain to become general secretary in 2007 and then president in 2012, were "always more than a job for me".

"The work in the different functions was close to my heart. I love football and this federation... In order to protect the DFB and this office, I am stepping down as DFB president with a heavy heart," he said.