Bayern Munich's honorary president Uli Hoeneß is set to appear as a witness in the trial of three former German Football Federation (DFB) officials accused of tax evasion linked to the 2006 World Cup in Germany.
Judge Eva-Maria Distler announced on Thursday on the second day of the trial at the regional court in Frankfurt that Hoeneß would take the stand on April 15.
The 72-year-old hinted on Sport1 TV in 2020 and in the podcast 11Leben in 2021 that he knew more than was in the public domain about a mysterious payment of millions of euros relating to the 2006 World Cup.
The DFB transferred €6.7 million ($7.3 million) to world governing body FIFA in April 2005.
Theo Zwanziger, Wolfgang Niersbach and Horst R. Schmidt are accused by prosecutors of allegedly including this sum in a tax return as a business expense in the profit calculation without authorization.
The money was supposedly for a gala which did not take place. Media reports have alleged the payment was connected to vote buying in the bid to host the 2006 tournament. This has never been proven and the trio are only on trial over the tax implications of the payment.
Hoeneß spent over a year in prison between 2014 and 2016 after being convicted of personal tax evasion.