German federation urges Zwanziger to quit FIFA

FIFA executive body member Theo Zwanziger talks during a news conference following the FIFA Congress in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Wednesday, June 11, 2014. Brazil is hosting the 2014 soccer World Cup starting June 12. AP

BERLIN — The German football federation is calling on Theo Zwanziger to step down from FIFA’s executive committee following a dispute with his successor as head of the federation.

Zwanziger stepped down as president of the German federation, or DFB, in 2012. He was succeeded by Wolfgang Niersbach but has remained a member of the FIFA executive committee.

Zwanziger has accused Niersbach of “hypocrisy” over his pay. In a statement following a meeting Saturday in Salvador, Brazil, the DFB’s leadership said it “rejected the clearly personally motivated and completely untenable statements in the strongest terms.”

It said it has concluded that Zwanziger “does not appropriately represent the interests of German football at FIFA” and is calling for him to step down from the world governing body.

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