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Germany accused of 'buying World Cup 2006'

FIFA is probing suggestions Germany may have secured hosting rights for the 2006 World Cup by bribing leading officials - an allegation the football federation denies.

The bidding committee of Germany’s 2006 World Cup bought the votes of Asian FIFA executive committee members, according to a German newspaper.

The allegations - made in Der Spiegel - name Robert Louis-Dreyfus, a French businessman who ran Adidas between 1994 and 2001, as the provider of 10.3 million Swiss francs (around five million pounds at that time) used to secure votes from a selection of FIFA's 24-member committee in July 2000.