Franz Beckenbauer and other former German football officials cannot be prosecuted over the 2006 World Cup vote-buying scandal because the statute of limitations has expired, FIFA’s ethics committee said on Thursday.

“The adjudicatory chamber of the independent ethics committee has ruled that the conduct of Franz Beckenbauer, Theo Zwanziger and Horst R Schmidt in connection with the 2006 FIFA World Cup cannot be prosecuted due to the expiry of the applicable limitation period,” it said in a statement.