German police conducted raids on Wednesday, July 1, 2026, in connection with suspected corruption during the 2024 European Championship. The headquarters of the German soccer federation (DFB) in Frankfurt was among the locations searched.

The investigation involves suspected bribery and the acceptance and granting of undue advantages. More than 150 officers participated in the raids, which also targeted city halls and municipal administrations in host cities including Gelsenkirchen, Dortmund, Dusseldorf, Cologne, Hamburg, Berlin, Frankfurt, Stuttgart, and Munich. Investigators also issued a request for the surrender of evidence to the Leipzig city administration.

The probe is being led by the Bochum Public Prosecutor's Office and the North Rhine-Westphalia State Office of Criminal Investigation (LKA NRW). Searches were carried out at two companies in North Rhine-Westphalia and one company in Bavaria. The investigation focuses on Euro 2024 GmbH, a joint venture between the DFB and UEFA, and two individuals: a 66-year-old German national and a 46-year-old French national.

"The investigations concern alleged unauthorized favors including attendance to a football game among others that an accused individual, who was working for a host city at the time, is said to have received from officials of the organizing entity," the Bochum Public Prosecutor's Office and the North Rhine-Westphalia State Office of Criminal Investigation said in a statement. The statement added, "Officials from the organizing entity seemingly offered host cities exclusive rights of first refusal for tickets. The host cities exercised some of these rights and used the tickets in various ways." Several thousand tickets may have been illegally allocated internally to preferred guests during Euro 2024.

The 66-year-old suspect is a former employee of the city administration in Gelsenkirchen and is no longer employed by the city. This individual is alleged to have been invited to Munich for the Euro 2024 semi-final match between Spain and France and is said to have gained a financial advantage of approximately €2,400. The suspect had previously attracted police attention for suspected fraud and withholding and misappropriating wages.

A DFB spokesman stated that the probe was not directed against the federation itself. Herbert Reus, Interior Minister of North Rhine-Westphalia, said, "A football ticket is not part of [a civil servant's] salary. Anyone in the civil service who holds out their hand for money will get a visit from us." The Bochum Public Prosecutor's Office and the North Rhine-Westphalia State Office of Criminal Investigation noted that the accused have not yet had the opportunity to comment on the allegations. "The presumption of innocence applies," the statement said.