Franz Beckenbauer asked to explain signature allegedly found on draft contract with Fifa’s Jack Warner

The pressure on Franz Beckenbauer over the 2006 World Cup bidding process has intensified, after the acting head of the German football federation called on him to explain a draft contract with the disgraced former Fifa official Jack Warner.

“We appeal to him to bring himself more closely into the explanation of what happened,” said Rainer Koch, one of the two caretaker presidents who this week took over the DFB following the resignation of Wolfgang Niersbach.

The Süddeutsche Zeitung and Bild reported on Tuesday that Beckenbauer’s signature was on a draft contract with Warner, promising favours shortly before the vote on the hosts of the 2006 World Cup. Germany won the bid by one vote over South Africa in 2000.

Koch said there was no proof that the contract influenced the voting behaviour of Warner and no indication that the contract was implemented.

Warner, who stepped down four years ago, has been suspended for life by the Fifa ethics committee and faces corruption charges in the United States, which is seeking his extradition from Trinidad and Tobago.
The two newspapers said Beckenbauer’s signature was on the draft contract, which was also initialled by his right-hand man, Fedor Radmann. They reportedly signed off on the document four days before the vote on the 2006 World Cup hosts. They reported that the contract promised Warner, then president of Concacaf, friendly matches and tickets.

Der Spiegel reported more than three weeks ago that a slush fund was used by German officials to buy votes before the award in 2000. Beckenbauer has rejected claims that a fund had been set up to buy votes.

Cristiano Ronaldo: I want to retire with 'dignity', not in USA, Qatar or Dubai

Cristiano Ronaldo said Friday that he wants to end his career “with dignity” and not playing in “the United States, Qatar or Dubai”. The Real Madrid and Portugal star, the subject of a new documentary that premiered on Monday in London, said Thursday in an interview on ITV’s The Jonathan Ross Show that he expected to play six or seven more seasons and hoped to finish his career at the highest level. The remarks ostensibly referenced the recent wave of top players who have finished their careers outside of Europe’s top leagues, among them MLS imports Didier Drogba, Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, Andrea Pirlo and David Villa, along with Xavi, the lifelong Barcelona midfielder who signed with Qatari club Al Sadd in May. “That does not mean it’s bad play in the leagues of the United States, Qatar or Dubai, but I do not see myself there,” Ronaldo said. Ronaldo, who turns 31 in February, became Real Madrid’s all-time leading goalscorer last month and has th...

Falkirk chairman calls for restructure of ‘outdated’ Scottish league

The format of the Scottish league is outdated and should be restructured with a 16-team Premiership to help boost football in the country, says the chairman of second-tier promotion-challengers Falkirk . Speaking at the club’s AGM, Doug Henderson said the slide of Scottish football, from falling attendances to the poor performance of the national side and their top clubs in Europe, would continue unless steps were taken to change the current system. Scotland were the only team from the British Isles not to qualify for next year’s European Championship and Celtic , Scottish champions for the past four seasons, regularly fail to make any impact in European competition. Scottish football’s top four tiers are currently organised into a 12-team Premiership with three lower divisions each containing 10 teams. “Reflecting economic reality and the need for premier division full-time football, I believe that we must put vested interest aside and reform our lea...

Young people to lose access to unemployment benefits as part of welfare reforms

YOUNG people will not be able to get unemployment benefits until they turn 25 under reforms introduced by the Turnbull Government today. The coalition has unveiled wide-ranging welfare reforms in parliament today, including changes to the Newstart program. It hopes to stop people aged 22 to 24 getting Newstart or the Sickness allowance, and they will instead be shifted to the Youth Allowance payment. This will reduce the amount of money that they will be able to get, costing a single person living away from home about $90 a fortnight. They will also be required to study in order to qualify for the payments. “The key aim of this measure is to provide incentives for young unemployed people to obtain the relevant education and training to increase employability,” according to an explanatory memorandum for the bill. However, it says Youth Allowance does allow students to earn a higher amount of money from part-time or casual work than Newstart, before this begins imp...

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