An official said on Monday that Frankfurt's state prosecutor will look into bribery allegations concerning the 2006 World Cup after a magazine report "suggested a slush fund had been used to buy votes" for the German bid in '00, according to Karolos Grohmann of REUTERS. Frankfurt state prosecutor's office spokesperson Nadja Niesen said, "We have initiated a monitoring process." The monitoring process "is not a formal investigation and will determine whether such a step will be necessary." Der Spiegel reported the slush fund had been set up with €6.7M loaned by the late adidas CEO Robert Louis-Dreyfus for Germany's World Cup bid committee to "pay bribes to FIFA officials in order to help land the tournament for Germany." The 2006 WC is "fondly remembered by Germans" as a "summer fairy tale" because of the "feel-good atmosphere across the country it created, with millions of fans on the streets celebrating daily" (REUTERS, 10/19). The BBC reported the German FA (DFB) "denies the allegations." The DFB said in a statement on Friday that it "categorically rejects" the newspaper's "baseless allegations" and would be taking legal action. FIFA said that it would investigate the "serious allegations" (BBC, 10/19). Grohmann reported in a separate piece Franz Beckenbauer, who headed the organizing committee for the 2006 World Cup, on Sunday "rejected claims that a slush fund had been set up" to buy votes and bring the tournament to Germany back in '00. He said, "I never gave money to anyone in order to acquire votes so that Germany is awarded the 2006 World Cup. And I am certain that no other member of the bid committee did something like that" (REUTERS, 10/18).
