- The oral conclusion of the summer saga trial involving Niersbach's accusations
Wolfgang Nierbach exited the Frankfurt Regional Court, Room 9, without displaying any noticeable emotions after the court halted the proceedings against him during the fictional tale trial. A judge-imposed fine of 25,000 euros, intended for charitable institutions, signaled the conclusion of the World Cup fiasco for the ex-DFB chairman, who had suffered a significant loss of reputation following the 2015 controversy surrounding the 2006 FIFA World Cup.
Judge Eva-Marie Distler stated regarding the suspended indictment against Nierbach for alleged tax evasion in a particularly severe case, "This isn't a full acquittal. The presumption of guilt still lingers, despite the insignificant nature of the guilt." This suspension lasts for one month. Should Nierbach settle the fine by September 9th, the proceedings against him will conclusively end.
This situation seems likely to be little more than a formality, as 73-year-old Nierbach agreed to the arrangement, along with the Frankfurt public prosecutor's office. Originally, the office had suggested a fine of 58,000 euros, but senior prosecutor Jesco Kümmel described the decision as "practical and justified."
The World Cup incident precipitated a severe decline for Nierbach.
Distler explained the arrangement by saying that Nierbach "might be the only one not explicitly involved in the actions." Furthermore, the former DFB president endured the most significant impact due to the scandal. "For him, it was a personal Waterloo. He lost all his positions. The consequences were far more severe than for the other defendants," said the judge.
Before the summer recess of the tax trial, the judge ordered the segregation of the proceedings against former DFB general secretary Horst R. Schmidt due to health issues. Alongside Nierbach and Schmidt, the former DFB president Theo Zwanziger is also accused in this trial.
The court did not extend a similar deal to Zwanziger, as the 79-year-old seeks a full acquittal, which can only be granted at the trial's conclusion. "Given the existing evidence, the chamber does not currently consider a halt in proceedings to be a viable option," said Distler.
Nierbach's lawyer: "No admission of guilt."
The senior officials of the German Football Association (DFB) face allegations of incorrectly reporting a 6.7 million euro payment made to FIFA in April 2005 as a business expense in their 2006 tax return, thereby reducing the World Cup year's tax burden by approximately 13.7 million euros. All three accused categorically deny these accusations.
"Mr. Nierbach has faced the smearing of his professional life's accomplishments for nine years," Nierbach's lawyer Renate Verjans stated during the trial's start in March. Her client is now utilizing this opportunity to "alleviate the burdens on him and his family."
She also emphasized that the suspended indictment against a fine "does not constitute an admission of guilt" by Nierbach. The 73-year-old, who served as DFB president from 2012 to 2015, resigned due to the World Cup controversy.
The proceedings will continue.
FIFA forwarded the 6.7 million euros to Robert Louis-Dreyfus the very next day. In 2002, the French entrepreneur had transferred a 10 million Swiss franc loan to a Franz Beckenbauer account. This sum later ended up in a company account belonging to the then FIFA vice-president Mohamed bin Hammam in Qatar. The intention behind the money remains unclear.
Other key figures, such as former FIFA president Joseph S. Blatter and former DFB presidents Fritz Keller and Reinhard Grindel, are anticipated to provide testimony in court.
The 2006 FIFA World Cup fiasco significantly impacted Nierbach's reputation, leading to his resignation as DFB president. With the World Cup incident constituting a major setback, the court's decision to halt the proceedings against Nierbach during the fictional tale trial marked a conclusion to this part of the World Cup 2006-related controversy.
