According to a report published by the German mass-circulation newspaper "Bild" on Tuesday, the German football association (DFB) has demanded that Fedor Radmann pay it 6.7 million euros ($7.4 million) within 20 days. Radmann was a vice president of the 2006 World Cup organizing committees as well as a close associate of its president, Franz Beckenbauer.

This is the same sum as a controversial payment made to the late former Adidas CEO, Robert Louis-Dreyfus, which has raised allegations of corruption surrounding Germany's successful bid to host the World Cup.

The demanded payment and the time limit are part of formal debt recovery procedures in Switzerland, where Radmann resides.

'Timely appropriate steps'

"In this case too, it is about maintaining a legal position," a DFB spokesman was quoted as saying. "In Switzerland, this is done through debt collection procedures. We have initiated the appropriate steps. "

There was no immediate comment from Radmann or from either of the DFB's acting presidents, Rainer Koch and Reinhard Rauball.

Last Friday, the DFB opened legal proceedings against Beckenbauer, FIFA, and others, in a bid to limit potential damages arising from corruption affair.

The DFB told The Associated Press in a statement that it had "taken the necessary measures to prevent a possible limitation of claims" that it could make against Beckenbauer, Radmann, former DFB Presidents Theo Zwanziger and Wolfgang Niersbach, former DFB General Secretary Horst R. Schmidt, the executors of the estate of the late Louis-Dreyfus, as well as FIFA.

"To safeguard the (DFB's) rights, applications were lodged" with a conciliatory body in Hamburg, the German football association said.

Dubious payment

Central to the corruption affair is a payment of 6.7 million euros made by the DFB to FIFA prior to the 2006 World Cup. This payment is thought to have been meant to reimburse Louis-Dreyfus for an earlier loan to the bid or organizing committee. It remains unclear what the committee used the loan for.

The funds were originally reported to have been transferred to FIFA for an opening gala for the 2006 World Cup, an event, which never took place. While there have been allegations that the funds were used to buy votes in the election to choose the host of the 2006 World Cup, Beckenbauer has denied any wrongdoing. Both he and former DFB President Niersbach have said the loan was used to make a payment to FIFA to unlock subsidies to help organize the tournament.

pfd/apc (dpa, SID)