German police raided the headquarters of the DFB on Wednesday as part of a corruption investigation into Euro 2024 — and the numbers being thrown around are not small. Bild is reporting that several thousand tickets may have been illegally funnelled to preferred guests through back-channel arrangements between tournament organizers and host cities.
More than 150 officers were involved in the morning raids. The targets weren't just the DFB — city halls and municipal administrations across Euro 2024 host cities were also searched, widening a probe that has quickly taken on a significant institutional scale.
What investigators are actually alleging
The Bochum Public Prosecutor's Office and NRW's state criminal investigation office laid it out plainly: an individual working for a host city at the time is alleged to have received unauthorized favors — including match tickets — from officials at the organizing entity, Euro 2024 GmbH. That entity is a joint venture between the DFB and UEFA.
The suspicion goes further than one person getting a freebie. Investigators believe organizers offered host cities exclusive first-refusal rights on tickets, which those cities then distributed in ways that are now under scrutiny. Two suspects are named: a 66-year-old German national and a 46-year-old French national.
For a tournament that was widely celebrated as a logistical and sporting success — Germany's feel-good summer of football — this is an uncomfortable postscript. Ticket access at major tournaments has always been a grey area of hospitality and influence; this investigation suggests it crossed into something prosecutors are prepared to treat as bribery.
What comes next
Prosecutors were careful to note that neither suspect has yet had the chance to respond to the allegations, and the presumption of innocence applies. But raids at this scale — DFB headquarters, multiple city administrations, 150-plus officers — don't happen on thin suspicion.
The DFB is already an institution that has spent years trying to rebuild its credibility after previous governance scandals. Another corruption cloud, even one originating in a separate organizational structure, is the last thing German football's governing body needs right now.
"The accused have not yet had the opportunity to comment on the allegations," prosecutors said. That opportunity is coming.
