"Shaking Things Up" - Bayer Leverkusen and Wolfsburg answer back, eyeing a legal battle
Bayer 04 and Wolfsburg are expressing discontent and hinting at potential problems emerging between the two teams.
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German football could be heading for a confrontation. The Federal Cartel Office has offered a "changed course" in its treatment of three clubs - and they're fuming.
The message was clear. "We'll explore all legal avenues to safeguard our interests," Bayer Leverkusen and VfL Wolfsburg communicated to the rest of the professional football scene. The two Bundesliga teams are livid over the Bundeskartellamt's assessment of the 50+1 rule and are brandishing legal threats. A showdown between the German Football League (DFL) could happen sooner than anticipated.
Hans-Joachim Watzke, DFL Presidium representative, had warned of this following the cartel office's call for improvements to the investor barrier. He urged common ground to find solutions for securing and strengthening the regulation. "The entire league association, DFL e.V., will need to work together to secure and strengthen the rule," said Watzke – but his plea seems to have fallen on deaf ears in Leverkusen and Wolfsburg.
"Changing the Game"
Both clubs rejected the cartel office's assessment in their responses to the "Cologne City-Anzeiger". Bayer expressed, "We don't find this new take convincing in content or outcome." The "non-binding" remark by the authority marks a "significant change" in the question of the legality of the 50+1 rule exception that has been in practice for 25 years. Wolfsburg shared almost identical sentiments.
On Monday, the cartel office presented its "preliminary cartel law assessment" of the 50+1 rule, which primarily raises concerns about the parent club's majority stake in a separate professional division. Though the authority acknowledges no fundamental issues with 50+1, it sees potential complaints arising. Given the exception status of Leverkusen and Wolfsburg, as well as the member debate at RB Leipzig and the club-internal guidelines tension (Hannover 96/Martin Kind), the DFL is urged to adjust.
Leverkusen (majority Bayer AG) and Wolfsburg (majority Volkswagen) require a new setup to level the playing field compared to other clubs. Leipzig must ensure that membership is accessible for voters without obstacles. The DFL is also called upon to ensure that instructions from clubs to their representatives during votes are followed.
The DFL Presidium aims to address the matter swiftly to create a compromise proposal. However, as in the past, the deep rifts between "typical" clubs and special cases will likely surface once again.
"It's Unexpected..."
RB wishes for further clarity in the 50+1 rule, and now seeks to draw the "correct conclusions." "It will be necessary for the 50+1 rule to be consistently and systematically applied and that for all 36 clubs," it stated in response to Sportschau's inquiry.
Hannover 96's response, as expected, was negative. The parent club believes their standpoint has been "confirmed," and in light of the cartel office's recommendations, "urges the DFB and DFL to consistently apply the 50+1 rule in every situation." Kind stated, "Now it's time for a serious review. It's rare for the cartel office to take seven years to issue such a non-binding recommendation."
Meanwhile, fans generally approve of the cartel office's assessment. The organization "Our Curve" also made it clear that the DFL must act immediately regarding implementation if courts don't intervene first.
Bayer Leverkusen and VfL Wolfsburg have announced their intention to challenge the Bundeskartellamt's assessment of the 50+1 rule in court, demonstrating their dissatisfaction with the changing legal landscape of German football.
In response to the call for improvements to the investor barrier by the DFL Presidium representative, Hans-Joachim Watzke, both clubs have rejected the cartel office's assessment, expressing their skepticism about its content and implications for the legality of the 50+1 rule exception.
