German police launched raids on Wednesday, June 25, 2026, in connection with suspected corruption related to tickets for the 2024 European Championship. More than 150 officers participated in the operation, which focused on officials from host cities and Euro 2024 GmbH, the tournament's organizing entity.

Among the premises searched was the headquarters of the German soccer federation (DFB) in Frankfurt. Police also inspected municipal offices and city halls in the host cities of Gelsenkirchen, Dortmund, Dusseldorf, Cologne, Hamburg, Berlin, Frankfurt, Stuttgart, and Munich. A request for the surrender of evidence was issued to the Leipzig city administration. Searches were to be carried out at two companies in North Rhine-Westphalia and one company in Bavaria.

The investigation is being led by the Bochum Public Prosecutor's Office and the North Rhine-Westphalia State Office of Criminal Investigation (LKA NRW). The probe concerns suspected bribery and the alleged acceptance and granting of undue advantages. Euro 2024 GmbH, a joint venture between the DFB and UEFA, is under investigation.

The investigation centers on two individuals: a 66-year-old German national and a 46-year-old French national. The 66-year-old suspect is a former employee of the Gelsenkirchen city administration and is alleged to have received unauthorized favors, including attendance at a football game, from officials of the organizing entity. He was reportedly invited to Munich for the Euro 2024 semi-final between Spain and France and is said to have gained a financial advantage of approximately €2,400 ($2,700).

This individual had previously drawn police attention on suspicion of fraud, withholding wages, and misappropriating wages. He is no longer employed by the city of Gelsenkirchen. Similar invitations were extended to Euro 2024 project managers in other host cities. Several thousand tickets may have been illegally allocated internally to preferred guests at Euro 2024.

A joint statement from the Bochum Public Prosecutor's Office and the North Rhine-Westphalia State Office of Criminal Investigation confirmed the scope of the probe. "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 statement said. It added that officials from the organizing entity "seemingly offered host cities exclusive rights of first refusal for tickets." The statement also noted that "the host cities exercised some of these rights and used the tickets in various ways." The agencies stated that "the accused have not yet had the opportunity to comment on the allegations" and that "the presumption of innocence applies."

Herbert Reus, the interior minister in North Rhine-Westphalia, commented on the situation. "A football ticket is not part of [a civil servant's] salary," Reus said. He added, "Anyone in the civil service who holds out their hand for money will get a visit from us." A DFB spokesman stated that the probe was not directed against the federation itself.