Germany: Wolfgang Niersbach resigns as president of the DFB, while expressing his innocence

Wolfgang Niersbach (GER) has resigned "with immediate effect" as president of the DFB, he announced at the headquarters of the German Federation in Frankfurt on 09/11/2015. "I've realized that the time had come for me to take political responsibility," said Wolfgang Niersbach, about the scandal that has rocked the Federation regarding the awarding of the 2006 World Cup to Germany.

German police raided the headquarters of the DFB and the homes of several current and former leaders of German football, including that of Wolfgang Niersbach, on 03/11/2015, as part of an investigation by the prosecutor of Frankfurt for tax evasion. This criminal investigation is related to revelations by the German magazine Der Spiegel, on 16/10/2015, for a payment of €6.7m allegedly transferred in spring 2005 by the German Federation to FIFA, five years after allocation to Germany -- the vote was on 06/07/2000 -- the organisation of the 2006 World Cup.

Wolfgang Niersbach was responsible for communications of the German bid committee for the organisation for the 2006 World Cup, while the president of the…