Wolfgang Niersbach. It's not confusing.

Day -956. WorldCup2018

There is a saying in Maltese which literally translates to "confuse me so I can understand you". It fits well in the Maltese sense of humour and it came to mind today. Football, you indeed are confusing.

Yesterday the President of the German Football Association (DFB) Wolfgang Niersbach resigned over a scandal surrounding the DFB and the bidding process for the 2006 World Cup. Nierbasch said he resigned because he realised he had to shoulder the political responsibility for the controversy surrounding the 6.7m Euros payment from the DFB to Fifa in 2000. He maintains he knew nothing about it and the DFB board still supported him.

Allegedly the payment was to reimburse the late former Adidas President Robert Louis-Dreyfus for money that he had loaned to the German World Cup bid committee. The money was supposedly for a slush fund that was set up to buy votes for the German bid. One of those supposedly "bought" votes was of the Maltese FA president, Joe Mifsud. Rather than just show up in Malta and hand over a brown envelope with $250,000 in it, the President of Bayern Munich, Franz Beckenbauer who was also the head of the German bid, set up a friendly match in Malta where Bayern played Malta. A contract was drawn up between the Swiss company CWL and the Maltese FA for TV rights for the match for $250,000. In a court case going on in Malta right now related to this match, Mifsud revealed that the contract was signed at his house, "because it was the weekend". The lawyer to the other party involved in this case pointed out that the contract was signed on a Thursday. "Well maybe I wanted to give them a drink", was Mifsud's justification. He "cannot remember" whether Beckenbaeur was present for the signing. It is quite normal that the President of a national football association doesn't notice the presence, or absence, of a football legend.

In the end, Germany won the right to host the 2006 World Cup by one vote over South Africa. It may have been Mifsud's vote and that of the now disgraced, former CONCACAF President Jack Warner. Beckenbauer's signature was found to be on a draft contract with Warner promising football related favours for Warner.

Nothing really confusing yet. It all just sounds like a now normal week at Fifa and one of it's member associations. But here is where the need to make it more confusing in order to be understandable arises. The DFB payment was made to Fifa, to reimburse the President of Adidas. Yes, indeed. Let's pay Pete back the money that Tom lent us. The clue may be in the wording of one of the reports. The money was paid back "through Fifa". And Adidas, not only as a major Fifa sponsor, has a very cosy relationship with Fifa, going back to the days of the setting up of the bribe and kickback machine, ISL, Fifa's media and marketing partner that was co-founded by the son of Adidas' founder.

The other bewildering fact out of yesterday and today's news is that Fifa have said they are going to investigate this DFB payment. That's expected, that they will say that. The extent of their investigation might be up for debate. However, there is one thing that seems, on the surface, not quite right. Although Niersbach resigned from the DFB he is keeping his position on the Fifa and UEFA executive committees. Niersbach saw fit to resign to protect the reputation of the DFB presidency. Yet, does he not see anything odd in being part of an executive committee that is going to investigate the possible illicit payment from the organisation that he was the president of to the organisation that he sits on the executive committee of. Yes it is true that the investigation may be independent. But, surely, he needs to cut himself loose from both the DFB and Fifa if he feels this moral responsibility. I suppose it is really only political responsibility.

Nothing related to Fifa is simple these days. This latest allegation will play out over the next few weeks and it will be more confusing along the way. But in the end I'm sure we will all be none the wiser about what really happened. And, Fifa, will we ever understand you?