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Beckenbauer admits he's lost faith in FIFA after World Cup vote

Franz Beckenbauer, seen here with FIFA president Sepp Blatter, says he has lost faith in FIFA.
Franz Beckenbauer, seen here with FIFA president Sepp Blatter, says he has lost faith in FIFA.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
  • Franz Beckenbauer says he's lost faith in FIFA after the World Cup voting process
  • Germany legend says losing bidders were treated "disgracefully"
  • Beckenbauer is to step down from FIFA's executive committee in March
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(CNN) -- The man who led Germany to a World Cup win both as a player and a coach admits he has lost faith in FIFA due to the way the voting process for the 2018 and 2022 tournaments was handled.

Franz Beckenbauer, a member of FIFA's executive committee, criticized football's governing body after the amount of votes each bidder received was made public.

Beckenbauer was one of the 22 FIFA members who voted in the process and claims he was assured that the details would remain private.

Yet soon after it was announced that Russia had won the right to host the 2018 competition, and Qatar had secured the 2022 version, media were reporting that two of the favorites, England and Australia, attracted just two votes and one vote respectively.

It led to an angry reaction from representatives of the England and Australia bid teams and Beckenbauer acknowledges his faith in FIFA has been shaken as a result.

"I am disappointed with the way FIFA dealt with the result. The seven losing countries were treated disgracefully, particularly England and Australia, Beckenbauer told German newspaper Bild.

The seven losing countries were treated disgracefully, particularly England and Australia.
--Franz Beckenbauer

"All of us ExCo members were told ahead of the ballot that neither we nor the public would ever know the exact number of votes for each country. After each round of voting we were told only which country had been ruled out.

"Then, a few hours later, I was hearing from journalists what the exact voting had been. It's certainly affected my confidence in FIFA."

England were particularly vociferous in their criticism of FIFA and claimed several committee members promised them votes that didn't materialize.

Ron Walker, a member of the Australian Football Federation, claimed the voting process had been "contaminated" in the year leading up to the announcement on December 2.

Beckenbauer was instrumental in taking the World Cup to Germany in 2006 having won the tournament as a player in 1974 and as a coach in 1990.

He announced in November that he will step down from his current role with FIFA in March in order to spend more time with his family.