FRANKFURT: German prosecutors will review allegations concerned how the country’s football federation obtained host rights to the 2006 World Cup.

This follows a report by Der Spiegel last week that a slush fund of €6.7m had been used to buy votes from executive committee members of the world federation FIFA. Germany beat South Africa 12-11 after a controversial vote process.

A spokeswoman for the Frankfurt state prosecutor’s office 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 cash loaned by the late Adidas ceo Robert Louis-Dreyfus. It said those aware of the slush fund had included Franz Beckenbauer, head of the 2006 organising committee, and Wolfgang Niersbach, the current president of the DFB) who was a vice president of the committee.

Niersbach, Beckenbauer and the DFB have vehemently rejected the allegations as ‘groundless’ and have said the magazine had provided no evidence to back up its claims.

The DFB has said its own investigation had found no wrongdoing in the 2006 World Cup process, but was investigating a payment of €6.7m from the committee to FIFA for a cultural programme and whether it was used as intended.

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