Beckenbauer acknowledges 'mistake' in payment to FIFA, but denies buying votes

“No votes were bought in order to win the right to stage the 2006 World Cup.”

Franz Beckenbauer has accepted responsibility for the German Football Association’s “mistake” in making a payment of €6.7million to FIFA, but denied that the money was used to buy votes to secure the 2006 World Cup.

Germany’s Spiegel magazine earlier this month unveiled details of the payment to the world governing body in 2005 which it claims was in return for votes to be awarded the right five years earlier to stage the tournament.