German FA chief Wolfgang Niersbach resigns after FIFA scandal
Thursday 12 November 2015 15:54, UK
German FA chief Wolfgang Niersbach has resigned over a FIFA payment that has resulted in a tax evasion probe.
Niersbach told reporters after an emergency meeting of the federation that he's talking "political responsibility" for the affair and has resigned "to protect the DFB and the office".
In a personal statement, Niersbach said: "I have worked for all these years at all times not only with great passion, but always accurately, trustfully and correctly.
"In addition to my assigned fields of marketing, media accreditations and event organization, I can say with a clear conscience that I reproach myself for absolutely nothing.
"More depressing and painful it is for me to be confronted for tasks nine years later that I had no involvement in and which leave many questions open for me. I maintain and make it clear once again that I was standing in the background and had no knowledge of the cash flows.
"The decision is made all the more difficult for me due to the political consequences. I love football and this association in which I experienced wonderful moments and I worked with great people. To protect the DFB and the office, I resign as the DFB president with a heavy heart."
Police raided the headquarters of the German Football Association (DFB) last Tuesday (November 3) over allegations of tax evasion linked to the awarding of the 2006 World Cup.
The homes of Niersbach and former president Theo Zwanziger were also searched as part of an operation involving 50 officers.
It followed a report in the German news weekly Der Spiegel last month that said the DFB made a secret payment of 6.7m Euros (£4.6m) to FIFA in 2005. An internal audit has failed to find any trace of the 6.7m Euros in the DFB's tax documents.
