Court rejects tax case against German World Cup organizers

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FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — A German court has rejected tax evasion charges against three people involved in the organizing of the 2006 World Cup, saying it sees insufficient evidence of wrongdoing.

The charges against Theo Zwanziger, Wolfgang Niersbach and Horst R. Schmidt are linked to a payment to FIFA and were filed by Frankfurt prosecutors earlier this year. News agency dpa reported that the city's state court decided not to go ahead with a trial. Prosecutors have a week to file any appeal.

The three were accused of falsifying tax returns on behalf of the German soccer federation in 2006. The federation already paid 19.2 million euros ($22.2 million) in back taxes. The men deny the charges.

Allegations in a broader case are also being investigated by Swiss federal prosecutors and the FIFA ethics committee.