FIFA scandal: Dempsey wouldn't have taken bribe - Former NZF boss

Charlie Dempsey with FIFA President Joseph Blatter in 2002. Photo / Brett Phibbs

A claim that the former head of New Zealand Football Charlie Dempsey took a bribe has been rejected by the chief executive at the time.

A book by investigative journalist Andrew Jennings claims Dempsey, who died in 2008, accepted close to $400,000 (US$250,000) to abstain from a FIFA vote in order to ensure that Germany hosted the 2006 World Cup.

MacGowan confirmed that Dempsey was under clear orders from the Oceania Federation to support South Africa's bid in the 2000 vote. The New Zealand Prime Minister's office had even double checked that this would occur, after receiving an inquiry from South Africa, the night before the vote.

Dempsey's decision to abstain led to an international furore but the man himself said he had relented under "intolerable pressure".

MacGowan is adamant Dempsey was not bribed.

"Really I don't think he did," he told Martin Devlin on RadioSport.

"I just can't imagine Charlie picking up a suitcase with a quarter of a million dollars in it and bringing it back to New Zealand.

"I hope this doesn't put a smear on his name...Charlie did a huge amount for football in this country and in fact in the (Oceania) region."

Jennings is a Scottish reporter renowned for his investigations of corruption in FIFA and the International Olympic committee so his latest book The Dirty Game:Uncovering the Scandal at FIFA will hold weight.

Adding to the intrigue, the all-powerful and controversial FIFA head Sepp Blatter wanted South Africa to win the vote. Jennings linked a number of Germans and a marketing firm ISL to the alleged Dempsey bribe.

The Daily Mail excerpt quotes the book: "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 $250,000. A cab would rush him to the airport for the flight home."

"Years later we discovered in the secret ISL archives a payment to an unknown company for exactly $250,000 ... the day before the vote."