SOCCER BID HIT BY BRIBE CLAIMS

GERMANY stands accused of allegedly using under-hand tactics to secure hosting the 2006 Soccer World Cup. Fifa president Sepp Blatter has admitted he knew of the letters some members of Fifa received from the secretary of the German bid team, but had not reported the matter to the police. Blatter was responding to allegations by Britain’s Channel 4 News which reported that the German bid team had offered money and gifts to Fifa delegates in exchange for their votes. A senior Fifa source told spilled the beans that New Zealand delegate Charles Dempsey revealed he received a letter from the secretary of the German bid team pushed under his hotel room door the night before the final vote took place. Further allegations indicate the Germans offered him a gift in return for the guarantee of his vote. The Fifa source said about 10 delegates claimed they too had received letters.