Dyke: FIFA farce is ‘like the Archers’

Matt Stead

Greg Dyke fears no World Cup bid has been won without “a pile of bungs” after another FIFA official resigned this week.

Football Association chairman Dyke has questioned where the FIFA corruption ends after Wolfgang Niersbach, president of the German football federation (DFB), quit on Monday.

Niersbach stepped down amid an investigation into allegations that corrupt payments were made to officials during the bidding process for the 2006 World Cup, which was staged in Germany. He denies any wrongdoing but said he had taken the decision to quit in order to “protect the DFB”.

Dyke said: “It’s like the Archers, it’s like a soap opera, every week something is happening. You begin to be convinced almost no World Cups have been allocated without a pile of bungs. But I was saddened what happened to Wolfgang, I like him, he was a good bloke.

“I don’t know the details of what happened. It does mean another member of the UEFA executive and the FIFA executive committee has had to resign (from the DFB).”

Niersbach currently remains a member of UEFA and FIFA executive committees.

The FA has written to FIFA demanding answers to “important questions” following comments from suspended president Sepp Blatter which appeared to suggest Russia had been chosen to host the 2018 World Cup before the vote had taken place. The FA spent £21million on England’s bid for the tournament but Blatter’s remarks implied the decision had been predetermined.

And Dyke continues to wonder where the FIFA problems will end.

“We all ask that,” he said, speaking at the launch of Birmingham FA’s refurbished facility.

“You have to have sympathy for some of the people who work for FIFA because there are good people there, they do a good job and work hard.

“I don’t know where it ends, you need a completely reformed organisation. There are even those now talking about how you should scrap FIFA altogether.

“It’s hard to see the logistics of how you can get there but it does need a totally reformed organisation.

“You can’t carry on like this.”

 

DFB vice-presidents Rainer Koch and Reinhard Rauball have both ruled out standing to succeed Niersbach.

The pair have been placed in temporary charge but have both made it clear they do not intend to stand in a future election.

“The position of DFB president is not something I have planned in my life,” Rauball told the Bild newspaper.

“I would like to remain president of Borussia Dortmund and, in August 2016, stand for re-election as president of the German Football League.”

His refusal comes after Koch also stated he had no intention of succeeding Niersbach.

“I am not and will also not be president,” the 56-year-old told the ARD television channel.

“We have decided among the directors that Dr Rauball will lead the delegation for the upcoming international matches and our treasurer Reinhard Grindel will be added to the delegation, and that we will then discuss together while on international duty how things will move on in the coming days.”

Meanwhile, accusations that Franz Beckenbauer was involved in an alleged payment made by the DFB to secure votes to stage the 2006 World Cup intensified on Tuesday when Koch confirmed that Beckenbauer’s signature was on an agreement with disgraced former FIFA vice-president Jack Warner.

This document, in which “a variety of services” were promised to Warner and his CONCACAF confederation was signed “by Beckenbauer on the German side and Jack Warner on the part of CONCACAF four days before the decision over the awarding of the 2006 World Cup were made,” according to a statement released by Koch.

“There is currently no confirmation as to whether this agreement was enforced, and all of this must be clarified,” added Koch.

“It is also not conclusive whether this contract led to Mr Warner voting in a certain way, or if there was any intention to this end.

“All this agreement leads us to say is that, in addition to the 6.7-million euro payment, we are now looking more closely at the conditions surrounding the decision to award the World Cup to Germany since we want to clear it all up.”