FIFA scandal can dethrone ‘ Kaiser’

Berlin: In football- mad Germany, Franz Beckenbauer is referred to as “the Kaiser”, the regal defender who steered his country to World Cup triumphs as both

a player and a manager. Mr Beckenbauer ( 70) still enjoys the legendary status in his homeland, but the lat

est FIFA investigation threatens to tarnish his reputation. When Der Spiegel broke the cash- for- votes scandal story recently, it alleged that the German Football Association had bought the votes of four Asian members of FIFA’s 24strong executive committee

to secure the 2006 World Cup. Mr Beckenbauer, how

ever, denied any such claims, “I have not sent anyone money to acquire votes for the awarding of the

2006 World Cup to Germany,” he said while the DFB also backed his denial. Mr Beckenbauer had been a commanding figure on the pitch, whether playing for Bayern Munich or West

Germany. He was aslo named European footballer of the year in 1972 and 1976. He has made 424 appear

ances in the Bundesliga, scoring 44 goals, including

a 13- year spell for Bayern, before he finished his career

in 1983. Off the field, Mr Beckenbauer led Germany’s successful bid to host the 2006 World Cup. He later became head of the organ

ising committee and the successful tournament is still nostalgically referred to in

Germany as the “die Sommermaerchen” — “The summer fairytale.” This is

the second time in 18 months Mr Beckenbauer has

fallen offside with Fifa. In June 2014, he was banned by Fifa for 90 days from any football- related activity. He refused to cooperate with an inquiry into corruption relating to the awarding of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups to Russia and Qatar.

respectively.