German football great Franz Beckenbauer, who has been suspended for 90 days by FIFA, said Sunday he will co-operate with a probe into Qatar's bid for the 2022 World Cup by June 27.
"Franz Beckenbauer on Saturday wrote to FIFA and said he will respond to the inquiry of the ethics commission no later than June 27," said a statement released by his agent.
Beckenbauer added he would respond to the allegations in German having argued that his initial reluctance to co-operate was based on his failure to grasp English legal jargon.
His agent said that the former German captain, coach and member of FIFA's executive committee expected "the sanction imposed against him would be immediately lifted".
Beckenbauer cancelled a planned trip to the World Cup in Brazil after being banned by FIFA, media reported Saturday.
The 68-year-old said he would not feel welcome in Brazil after being hit with the 90-day suspension.
Beckenbauer, who was a member of the FIFA executive board in 2010 when the votes were cast to award Russia the 2018 World Cup finals and Qatar the 2022 edition, had originally planned to go to Brazil for the semi-finals.
Beckenbauer refused to cooperate with Michael Garcia, the former US federal prosecutor who headed an investigation in the votes for the Qatar vote and another that awarded the 2018 World Cup to Russia.
In an interview with Bild last week, Beckenbauer said he had nothing to hide, but complained that Garcia had refused to pose his questions in a language he understood.
"I was ready to answer all pertinent questions, but they sent them to me in a legal English that I could not understand in such a complex case," he told Bild.
Beckenbauer said he had a right to keep his FIFA vote in 2010 secret.
But he added: "People with a memory will remember that I declared just after (the vote) that the choice of Qatar surprised me. And I was one of the first to say that a World Cup over there was impossible and that it would have to be played in winter."
According to British media reports, quoting thousands of emails linked to the case, Beckenbauer went to Qatar as a guest of bin Hammam before the 2010 vote and met the state's emir. They added that he returned after the vote.
Source: AFP
