Fritz Keller's visit to Beckenbauer: yesterday's president - a comment

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DFB President Fritz Keller in his restaurant at the Kaiserstuhl

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Philipp von Ditfurth / dpa

On Friday evening the "Bild-Zeitung" was able to come up with a real scoop: Franz Beckenbauer was relieved in matters of "summer fairy tales".

The accusation that the 2006 World Cup came to Germany by buying votes was off the table, at least for the "Kaiser".

Finally, after five years of the summer fairytale affair, the good news that football Germany has been waiting for.

No one other than DFB President Fritz Keller personally brought it to Beckenbauer during a subsequent congratulatory visit on his 75th birthday.

"On this occasion I was able to inform Franz Beckenbauer that, according to the current state of affairs, Esecon's investigations against him have not revealed anything incriminating," Keller said.

Esecon is the company that is currently supposed to clear up many dark stories from the past for the association, including suspected corruption around the 2006 World Cup in Germany.

The DFB could live very well with the result of the Freshfields report

So the emperor finally rehabilitated after five years?

That can only be said by those who have no idea of ​​the allegations and the evidence, apparently including the new President Fritz Keller.

How else do you get such a clean bill of health or at least give the impression that there is one?

As a reminder, also for Keller: In 2015, his DFB commissioned the law firm Freshfields to clarify the allegations, which submitted a thick report.

This so-called Freshfields Report certainly had many weaknesses.

Exciting traces were not followed up, important details were hidden in footnotes.

And in the end he came to a result with which the DFB could live very well: There was no evidence of buying votes.

But not even the Freshfields lawyers went so far as to call Emperor Franz, who himself had contributed poorly to the investigation, as exonerated.

Because one thing has been proven by transfer slips: In 2002, two years after winning the World Cup, Franz Beckenbauer's account was transferred in several tranches to an account of his tax advisor and from there immediately on to Mohamed bin Hamman.

He, in turn, is a notorious functionary from Qatar who is now banned for life due to corruption.

He is silent about what he did with the money, whether he kept it or passed it on, to whom and why.

Nebulizer in the matter

A proper use may be excluded under the given circumstances.

The fact that FIFA votes were subsequently paid for with the money is one possibility, others are not excluded.

Beckenbauer's claim that he wanted to make an advance payment so that the DFB would receive a higher subsidy for the World Cup from Fifa is probably the most unlikely of all variants.

And as long as it stays that way, buying votes is not off the table for the emperor.

Esecon doesn't seem to know anything else either.

Otherwise, Keller would have long called to the press conference to enlighten the nation and finally relieve the DFB from the shadow of bribery.

In truth, only one thing is new: The same President Keller, who started a year ago with the promise to clear up the summer fairy tale, is now one of the nebulizers in the matter.

The glossy speakers.

The old style officials.

Better if all the allegations vanish into thin air.

When the association has never done anything wrong.

When the unholy alliance of the DFB, the German Football League and old Bavaria does not get scratched and meets all attacks with the usual arrogance.

Buying votes?

All other.

But we don't.

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