Investigation put Cup final, friendlies in doubt

CISCOEG6 · Division 2 Rookie

Investigation put Cup final, friendlies in doubt
The German Cup final and two national team warmups for this year's European Championship were nearly called off last week due to an ongoing investigation into Germany soccer.

Now at Fox Soccer Shop Theo Zwanziger, German Soccer Federation president, backed off on the threat Thursday after Germany's antitrust agency agreed the games could be played without his personal money put up as collateral.

The agency wanted collateral because of its threat to slap a huge fine on the soccer federation and Bundesliga. It is investigating whether they colluded in the hunt for sponsors when they should be competitors.

"I can confirm that there were intensive talks between our lawyers and the antitrust people," federation spokesman Harald Stenger was quoted as saying by Bild daily on Saturday. "There is hope that they will show more understanding for our viewpoint in what we consider a question specific to sport."

The agency also demanded personal collateral from Bundesliga president Reinhard Rauball for the three games. The agency considers them joint productions of the two organizations.

There were 500,000 ticket requests for the cup final, which pits Bayern Munich against Borussia Dortmund on April 19.

The two national team games are the final matches before the European Championship starts. Germany faces Belarus on May 27 and plays Serbia four days later.

The agency searched the central offices of the federation and Bundesliga on Feb. 26 for evidence.

TGL:CBKoE · Moderator

it can only happen in germany LOL

elfisk · Rookie

no way all that happen in germany wow whats next