Football – BVerfG ruling: The clubs have to pay

Tarek Brauer was the first official to come before the microphones after the Federal Constitutional Court’s (BVerfG) verdict was unfavorable to him. According to the managing director of Werder Bremen, he now expects that his club will not be left alone with the additional costs that are expected in high-risk games in the future. »Our budget is not huge. One to two million more hurts us.” In addition, “the DFL as co-organizer and the visiting club have their share” if the police pass on increased bills after explosive games.

The city of Bremen passed on the additional costs of 400,000 euros to Werder after a derby against Hamburger SV according to the highest German court at least legally. It is legitimate to “charge for the additional police effort at profit-oriented, large-scale events that experience shows are prone to violence.” The fact that Bundesliga games are highly profitable was emphasized several times in the reasons for the judgment.

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One of the points worth considering in the argumentation of the German Football League (DFL), which had already unsuccessfully sued in three instances, was the argument that security in public spaces is a sovereign task that should not be “privatized”. That’s not wrong, after all, otherwise those calling for a large demonstration against nuclear power could also be involved in excessive police costs.

But of course the DFL’s argument was primarily driven by interests. As much as possible of the five billion in sales that it generated last season should remain in the system: especially with the high player salaries. In fact, two million euros may hurt Werder, as Brauer said. But there is no regular player in Bremen for an annual salary of less than one to two million.

Also interesting are the first reactions from the critical fan scene, who sided with the clubs with press releases on Tuesday, when judge Stephan Harbarth had not even read out a third of the reasons for the verdict. “The ruling must be applied fairly and equally to all major public events,” demands Thomas Kessen, spokesman for “Our Curve (UK),” sarcastically. “The organizers also have to be billed for the Munich Oktoberfest, the Cologne Carnival and the New Year’s Eve parties at the Brandenburg Gate.” UK was also happy to repeat the DFL’s argument that the clubs already pay 1.6 billion euros in taxes and duties.

Fans and clubs alike also criticize the lack of transparency in the classification of high-risk games. And in fact, it is often not at all clear why the police declare a game to be a high-risk game. This often happens on the basis of the supposed findings of the so-called “scene-informed officers,” who know a lot at most locations – except the “scene,” which refuses any dialogue with the plainclothes officers who are viewed as informants. In the 2022/23 season there were 52 “red games” among the 612 games in the first and second leagues. People who are really familiar with fan culture would have called out significantly less.

Bremen’s Interior Senator Ulrich Mäurer made an interesting suggestion in the court foyer. “The professional league pays into a fund, and the federal and state police forces are then billed based on the effort,” said the SPD politician, knowing full well that the black and black-green governed federal states in particular have not yet covered the costs. want to pass on their Bundesliga teams. The result: Rich clubs like Borussia Dortmund or FC Bayern don’t have to pay a cent to the police or state government, but Werder does – another blatant distortion of competition.

However, the Bremen Senator for the Interior also knows that the DFLwhich has so far rejected such a solidarity model, would have to revise its position. Mäurer said in Karlsruhe that he was in good spirits that exactly that would now happen. However, that would be a much bigger surprise than the judge’s ruling on Tuesday.