German football legend Franz Beckenbauer has been fined and warned by FIFA's ethics committee over his failure to co-operate with an investigation into the 2018 and 2022 World Cup bids.
It has been alleged that corruption was involved in the 2018 World Cup being awarded to Russia and when Qatar was named the host for the 2022 tournament.
Beckenbauer was suspended by the ethics committee during the disciplinary process and has now been fined 7,000 Swiss francs and issued with a warning.
A statement read: "The adjudicatory chamber of the Ethics Committee chaired by Jack Kariko has imposed a sanction of a warning and fine on football official Franz Beckenbauer. The sanction comes into force immediately. The decision was made based on investigations carried out by the chief of investigation, Vanessa Allard, member of the investigatory chamber of the Ethics Committee.
"In the present case, Mr Beckenbauer failed to cooperate with an Ethics Committee investigation conducted by the then chairman of the investigatory chamber of the Ethics Committee regarding the 2018/2022 FIFA World Cup bids despite repeated requests for his assistance. This included requests to provide information during an in-person interview and in response to written questions presented in both English and German.
"Mr Beckenbauer thus did not behave in accordance with the general rules of conduct applicable to football officials in the context of the investigations, thereby violating article 13 of the FIFA Code of Ethics (FCE). In addition, the adjudicatory chamber found Mr Beckenbauer to have violated article 18 (Duty of disclosure, cooperation and reporting) and article 42 (General obligation to collaborate) of the FCE."
The sanction is effective immediately.
Danielle Joynson
