A probe into suspected ticket and hospitality violations at Euro 2024 saw the German FA’s offices raided by investigators on Wednesday, it has been reported.
According to German newspaper Bild, the Deutscher Fussball Bund (DFB, the German FA) was visited as part of nationwide searches, prompted by investigations into a German national, a French national, and others.
Prosecutors in Bochum and the criminal office of North Rhine-Westphalia issued a joint-statement, saying searches were taking place in several locations around Germany, although the DFB’s offices were not mentioned.
Per Bild, the case relates to hotel invitations and several thousand tickets, which might have been illegally allocated to preferred guests ahead of Euro 2024, which was hosted by Germany and took place in 10 cities.
The German national, at the time a municipal employee from the host city of Gelsenkirchen, was suspected to have received tickets, travel and hotel benefits worth $2,736.
“A football ticket is not part of one’s salary. Anyone in the public sector who has their hand out will get a visit from us,” Herbert Reul, the Interior Minister of North Rhine-Westphalia, told Bild.
“Major events like the European Football Championship, in particular, rely on public trust – trust in the sport and in the authorities that make it possible. We will not allow that trust to be damaged by a few invitations and tickets.”
The statement by prosecutors and police also said the investigation concerned “unauthorised advantages, including a visit to an international football match”.
The DFB was not immediately available for comment. Uefa did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment. Prosecutors in Bochum declined further comment.
The news comes on a week in which the German national team suffered a shock World Cup exit at the hands of Paraguay, who handed die Nationalmannschaft its first-ever penalty-shootout defeat.
That round-of-32 result has led to questions over the future of coach Julian Nagelsmann, while Chancellor Friedrich Merz sparked backlash by praising the team on social media despite the defeat.
Nagelsmann’s first tournament in charge was in fact Euro 2024, where his side lost to eventual champions Spain in the quarter-finals.
Additional reporting by Reuters.
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