A new book written by investigative journalist Andrew Jennings levels the allegation against the late Oceania Football boss, Charlie Dempsey.
Jennings' book, The Dirty Game: Uncovering the Scandal at FIFA, says Dempsey had accepted $US250,000 ($397,000 NZD) to abstain from the final round of voting for the 2006 Football World Cup host.
Dempsey, who died in 2008, was supposed to vote for South Africa, but claimed he couldn't vote due to constant offers of bribery.
His absence, leaving the vote at 12-11, resulted in Germany winning the bid.
The book alleges a German man "fixed" Dempsey.
"Somebody had not voted. Who was it? It was Charlie Dempsey. He had walked out between rounds. He was at Zurich airport, catching a plane home," read an extract from the book posted by the Daily Mail.
"Anticipating the possibility of a 12-12 draw, the arrangement was that Charlie would leave the vote, go back to the Dolder Grand hotel and collect a briefcase left for him in the cloakroom. It contained US$250,000. A cab would rush him to the airport for the flight home."
There was no evidence of bribery at the time, and the Scottish-born New Zealander resigned from the FIFA executive committee soon after.
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