FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) A highly anticipated independent report to be released Friday could throw light into corruption allegations against Germany's 2006 World Cup organizers and the fate of a dubious payment to FIFA.
The German soccer federation has been in turmoil since October, when the der Spiegel weekly published allegations that the tournament organizers used a slush fund to buy Asian votes ahead of the successful bid to land the 2006 World Cup, which was celebrated in Germany as the ''summer fairytale.''
But the report from an independent law firm could prove to be a nightmare for some of the country's best known soccer personalities, including Franz Beckenbauer.