Slush fund allegedly used to buy votes for Germany's 2006 World Cup

German football has been thrown into turmoil when magazine Der Spiegel said the country's football officials had used a slush fund to win votes and land the 2006 World Cup.

The magazine said the late CEO of sports maker Adidas, Robert Louis-Dreyfus, had loaned the 2006 World Cup bid committee around 6.5 million euros to help land the necessary support in a July 2000 vote.

Germany edged out favourites South Africa by 12 votes to 11 to secure the 2006 tournament.

FIFA is already mired in US and Swiss investigations into allegations of high-level corruption involving the awarding of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups to Russia and Qatar.

Der Spiegel, which did not identify its sources for the allegations, said 2006 World Cup chief Franz Beckenbauer and his vice president Wolfgang Niersbach, the current head of Germany's football association (DFB), were aware of the loan from Louis-Dreyfus.

The DFB rejected the allegations, saying there were no slush funds or cash-for-votes.

"The DFB resolutely rejects the completely groundless allegations of the magazine Der Spiegel that there were 'slush funds' in relation to the bid committee of the 2006 World Cup," it said in a statement.

"It equally...