The debate over Der Spiegel's allegations that German bidders used a slush fund to help secure the 2006 World Cup "continues to divide German football," according to Stephan Uersfeld of ESPN. The German FA (DFB) has admitted that a payment to FIFA had been made, but the DFB claimed that "they did not know what happened to the money originally intended for a FIFA cultural programme." The DFB "also never claimed it back." The DFB "strongly rejected" claims that current President Wolfgang Niersbach and Bayern Munich's honorary President Franz Beckenbauer "were aware of the existence of the funds." Niersbach said that he had been "made aware of the payment this summer, and the attempts to solve the issue had been started immediately, both internally and externally with the help of law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer." However, the commercial lawer news site juve.de claimed the law firm only received the mandate "very recently and not a few months ago." The law firm currently also advises car manufacturer Volkswagen, "with the company having been ordered to recall 2.4 million cars for a software change in Germany alone in the wake of the emissions scandal earlier this year." During a talk show on Sky on Sunday Jens Weinreich -- one of the five authors of the story -- said that the note "has not undergone a handwriting analysis." The author also attacked Sky for allegedly taking sides, calling them "the Beckenbauer network." Benckenbauer "works as a pundit for Sky." The DFB is also reportedly "considering legal action" against former President Theo Zwanziger, who was a member of the organizing committee in '06 but "has since fallen out with the DFB" (ESPN, 10/20).
