The German government allegedly sent a shipment of weapons, including rocket-propelled grenades, to Saudi Arabia in order to win their vote to host the 2006 World Cup, a German media report has claimed.
The government sent the shipment of arms to the Saudi Arabia a week before the vote in 2000, the German newspaper Die Zeit reported
"The government of Gerhard Schröder decided to supply RPGs to Saudi Arabia a week before the World Cup award," the report claimed.
Germany won the vote 12-11 over South Africa with a thin margin to host 2006 World Cup. The results, which shocked the footwall world, were also controversial because New Zealand FIFA delegate Charlie Dempsey abstained instead of supporting South Africa as planned, according to Eurosport.
The report further alleged that the government lifted arms embargo few days before the vote in order to send shipment to Saudi Arabia, according to The Guardian. German car manufacturer Volkswagen, pharmaceutical company Bayer and Daimler had committed huge investments in Thailand and South Korea in order to persuade them to support Germany's bid.
German Football Federation has denied any wrongdoing. "There was a 12 to 11 vote. We know that the eight Europeans voted for us, and we can only guess where the other four votes came from. We impressed them with our application," German Football Federation President Wolfgang Niersbach said, ESPN reported.
The allegations are the latest revelations in murkier FIFA bribery scandal, which started with the arrests of seven FIFA officials. Following the emergence of scandal, FIFA president Sepp Blatter stepped down just five days after he was re-elected for his fifth term.
In related development on Friday, a fresh letter has surfaced implicating the South African government and South Africa 2010 World Cup boss Danny Jordaan in the $10 million payment, the Daily Mail reported.
FBI has launched an investigation into the FIFA corruption scandal last week, and 2014, 2018 and 2022 World Cup bidding processes are under scrutiny.
