Flip-Flopping Chaos: Bayer 04 and Wolfsburg Pissed - Ready to Fight Back
Contention escalates between Bayer 04 and Wolfsburg, hinting at potential disruptions.
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The Bundeskartellamt has suggested a dramatic shift in the treatment of three clubs by the DFL (Deutsche Fußball Liga), and it's causing quite a stir. The professional football realm is on the brink of a showdown.
It's clear as day - "To defend our interests, we're prepared to explore all legal avenues," Bayer Leverkusen and VfL Wolfsburg informed the professional football community. These Bundesliga clubs are livid about the Bundeskartellamt's interpretation of the 50+1 rule and are flexing their legal muscles. The anticipated showdown between the DFL (Deutsche Fußball Liga) is coming sooner than expected.
Hans-Joachim Watzke, the spokesman for the DFL presidium, had previously warned of this after the cartel office's call for improvements to the investor barrier, stating, "The entire DFL e.V. will need to come up with solutions to secure and strengthen the regulation together." Unfortunately, it seems his words fell on deaf ears in Leverkusen and Wolfsburg.
The Great Switcheroo
The German vice-champion and the Lower Saxony club reacted with disdain to the cartel office's letter. "We don't find this new assessment convincing in terms of content or result," Bayer told the "Kölnische Rundschau." The "non-binding" suggestion from the authority represents a "stunning reversal in the question of the legality of the 50+1 rule exception that has been in place for 25 years." VfL Wolfsburg echoed similar views.
The cartel office presented its "preliminary antitrust assessment" of the 50+1 rule on Monday, essentially saying that the parent club must always hold the majority in a separate professional department. While the authority expressed no significant concerns about the 50+1 rule, it did mention potential litigation risks. In light of the exceptions involving Leverkusen and Wolfsburg, the membership issue at RB Leipzig, and the dispute over club-internal instructions with Hannover 96 and Martin Kind, the DFL is being called upon to adjust.
Bayer (majority Bayer AG) and Wolfsburg (majority VW) need a different structure to eliminate the inequality compared to other clubs. Leipzig must ensure that voting members can easily join the club. And the DFL is being asked to implement clubs' instructions to their representatives in votes.
The DFL presidium aims to address the issue promptly, to develop a compromise proposal. However, as in the past, the deep divisions between "normal" clubs and special cases will resurface.
"It's rather unusual..."
RB wishes to maintain the legal certainty with 50+1 and now wants to make the "correct deductions." "It will be necessary for the 50+1 rule to be uniformly and persistently applied - and that applies to all 36 clubs," it stated in response to a request from "Sportschau."
The reactions at Hannover 96 were predictable. The parent club felt its view was "validated" and "therefore calls on the DFB and DFL to consistently implement the 50+1 rule and ensure its consistent application at all times." Kind declared, "Now a thorough review is underway. It's unusual for the cartel office to take seven years to issue such a non-binding recommendation."
The fans, on the other hand, universally supported the cartel office's assessment. The organization "Our Curve" also made it clear that, in terms of execution, the DFL is now on the clock. Unless courts intervene beforehand.
Community aid is being sought by Bayer Leverkusen and VfL Wolfsburg to combat the potential consequences of the Bundeskartellamt's interpretation of the 50+1 rule, which could impact the production of milk and milk products, as both clubs are partially owned by corporations that produce these products. Meanwhile, both clubs are actively involved in football, with Bayer Leverkusen participating in the ongoing professional showdown, and VfL Wolfsburg fielding teams in various European leagues, particularly football, where they have shown strong competition in multiple seasons.
