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German FA Takes Legal Action Against Former President

Former German Football Association (DFB) president Theo Zwanziger has confirmed to the German Press Agency that the DFB is taking legal action against him over a €24 million ($24.9 million) financial dispute.

The DFB has filed a claim for compensation at the Frankfurt Regional Court for the stated amount.

The legal proceedings are related to financial losses the DFB has incurred or may incur due to a tax evasion case linked to the 2006 FIFA World Cup.

The case, involving former DFB presidents Wolfgang Niersbach and Theo Zwanziger, along with former general secretary Horst R. Schmidt, has been ongoing at the Frankfurt Regional Court for nearly 11 months.

The dispute revolves around a €6.7 million payment made by the DFB via FIFA to the late businessman Robert Louis-Dreyfus in 2005, which resulted in more than €13 million in tax evasion.

This payment was officially declared as operational expenses for a World Cup-related event, but the event never took place.

Franz Beckenbauer, the head of the 2006 World Cup organizing committee and a 1974 World Cup winner, took out a loan for this amount from Louis-Dreyfus in 2002. The money ultimately ended up in an account belonging to former FIFA official Mohammed bin Hammam from Qatar. The exact purpose of the funds remains unclear.

The DFB initially filed a lawsuit against three former officials in 2017 but later agreed to drop the case. However, in 2025, the federation decided to proceed with legal action.

Since the criminal case against Niersbach was settled with a €25,000 charitable donation and the case against Schmidt was dismissed for health reasons, Zwanziger is now the only remaining defendant.

The DFB has declined to comment, stating that the case is still ongoing.

Hans-Jörg Metz, Zwanziger’s lawyer, told Süddeutsche Zeitung: “We have been in discussions with the DFB for years to reach a unified assessment of liability. Based on expert opinions commissioned by the DFB itself, these opinions have been very critical of Zwanziger’s responsibility in this matter.”

He added: “Unfortunately, the DFB lacked the courage to present its own assessment, so the court must now decide after evaluating all aspects.”

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