Franz Beckenbauer sanctioned

The Ethics Committee said on Wednesday that Beckenbauer, who was one of its members at the time of the 2010 vote, which chose Russia and Qatar as hosts of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, had failed to cooperate with an investigation into the matter.

A statement released by the adjudicatory chamber of the Ethics Committee said that Beckenbauer had "failed to cooperate" with the investigation "despite repeated requests for his assistance."

It said the information that the investigatory chamber had sought from Beckenbauer included "requests to provide information during an in-person interview and in response to written questions presented in both English and German."

As a result, the adjudicatory chamber issued a warning to Beckenbauer and fined him 7,000 Swiss francs (6,350 euros, $7,000,).

The investigation into the controversial decisions to award the two World Cups in question culminated in a 2014 report headed by former US prosecutor Michael Garcia, which FIFA has yet to release, citing procedural reasons.

In June 2014, the Ethics Committee had suspended Beckenbauer for 90 days over his alleged refusal to cooperate with the Garcia probe, but it lifted that suspension after two weeks. Wednesday's statement acknowledged that Beckenbauer had "subsequently demonstrated a willingness to cooperate."

The German led his country's successful bid to host the 2006 World Cup, which has been #link:19000818:embroiled in a controversy over slush-fund allegations linked to the bid. Both Beckenbauer, and the former president of the German football association (DFB), Wolfgang Niersbach, have denied that any votes were bought in connection with the 2006 bid.

The Ethics Committee said its investigation of Beckenbauer "did not look into the matters related to the awarding of the 2006 FIFA World Cup to Germany."

apc/pfd (AFP, dpa)