FIFA has provisionally banned German World Cup winner Franz Beckenbauer from all official football-related activities for 90 days for failing to cooperate with the corruption investigation into the Qatar 2022 World Cup bid.
Beckenbauer, 68, was part of the FIFA executive committee that gave the 2018 World Cup to Russia and 2022 World Cup to Qatar.
The deputy chairman of the FIFA Ethics Committee’s adjudicatory chamber, Alan Sullivan, issued the ban at the request of the chairman of the investigatory chamber, American lawyer Michael J. Garcia.
In a statement, FIFA said:
“The decision was taken pursuant to the FIFA Code of Ethics art. 83 par. 1, on the grounds that a breach of the Code of Ethics appears to have been committed and a decision on the main issue may not be taken early enough. The apparent breach relates to Mr Beckenbauer’s failure to cooperate with an Ethics Committee investigation despite repeated requests for his assistance, including requests that he provide information during an in-person interview or in response to written questions provided in both English and German.”
The case is now the subject of formal investigation proceedings being conducted by investigatory chamber member Vanessa Allard as chief of the investigation.
Beckenbauer’s ban comes after The Sunday Times published a report alleging that Qatari football official Mohamed Bin Hammam made payments totalling £3 million to football executives in return for their support in helping Qatar win the bidding process for the World Cup in 2022.
