DPA/Rio de Janeiro

FIFA has lifted a provisional ban on Franz Beckenbauer but an independent ethics committee is still investigating the German football great.

Football’s world governing body informed Beckenbauer of the decision Friday.

Beckenbauer was suspended on June 13 for 90 days from all football-related activities for failing to respond to FIFA’s ethics committee, which is investigating alleged corruption in the votes for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.

The ethics committee has revoked the suspension but given Beckenbauer a warning against any repetition of the conduct which led to the ban, a FIFA statement said.

Investigation proceedings opened by lawyer Michael Garcia, who chairs the ethics committee, and conducted by investigatory chamber member Vanessa Allard “which will determine whether Mr Beckenbauer violated provisions of the FIFA Code of Ethics, are on-going,” it said.

Beckenbauer, who was a member of FIFA’s executive committee in December 2010 when it chose the World Cup hosts, has now responded to the inquiries carried out by Garcia, his management said.

In imposing the ban on June 13, FIFA said Beckenbauer ignored “repeated requests” to assist with an independent investigation into the bidding process for the 2018 and 2022 tournaments.

However, Beckenbauer, who is an adviser to FIFA’s football committee and an honorary president of Bayern Munich, will be not be travelling to the World Cup in Brazil as originally planned, the statement said.

Beckenbauer, who captained West Germany to victory as hosts at the 1974 World Cup and was coach when they next lifted the trophy in Italy in 1990, continued to believe the ban was not justified because he had no obligation to testify to FIFA, his management said.

However, with hindsight it would have been better for him to answer the questions earlier.

“I underestimated the matter,” Beckenbauer is quoted as saying by his management.

Beckenbauer said he had been dealing at the time with a great deal of administration usually dealt with by his management, but in this case he had been unable to fully involve his team.

FIFA said the decision to provisionally ban Beckenbauer was revoked by the deputy chairman of the independent ethics committee’s adjudicatory chamber, Alan Sullivan QC.

Sullivan “considered that it was appropriate at the time to impose provisional measures”.

A breach of the FIFA code of ethics appeared to have been committed but Sullivan “concluded that all the conditions for the imposition of provisional measures were no longer fulfilled.”

He has warned Beckenbauer “that a repetition or continuation of the conduct that led to the imposition of the provisional measure might give rise to further sanctions, including new provisional measures.”