"Tension in the Football realm" Bayer 04 and Wolfsburg aren't happy campers - and threaten pushback
Hostile Encounters Emerge Between Bayer 04 and Wolfsburg, Stirring Up Potential Discord
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German football industry braces for a potential standoff. The Bundeskartellamt proposes a significant change in approach towards three clubs, and they're fuming.
The warning was unmistakable. "In order to safeguard our interests, we reserve the right to all legal avenues," Bayer Leverkusen and VfL Wolfsburg notified the rest of the professional football scene. These Bundesliga clubs are fiercely opposing the Bundeskartellamt's evaluation of the 50+1 rule and are waving legal threats. The looming showdown for the Deutsche Fußball Liga (DFL) might arrive sooner than anticipated.
Following the Bundeskartellamt's call for enhancements to the so-called investor barrier, Hans-Joachim Watzke, DFL presidium spokesperson, warned of this. He advocated for finding joint solutions to secure and strengthen the regulation. "The entire DFL e.V. will need to find ways to safeguard and fortify the regulation collectively," Watzke said - yet it seems his plea fell on deaf ears in Leverkusen and Wolfsburg.
"A Significant Turn"
Bayer Leverkusen and VfL Wolfsburg rebuffed the Bundeskartellamt's letter with disapproval. "We don't find this new assessment compelling, neither in content nor outcome," Bayer told the "Kölnische Rundschau." The "non-binding" statement from the authority represents a "significant shift in the question of the legality of the 50+1 rule exception that has existed for 25 years." VfL echoed almost identical sentiments.
On Monday, the Bundeskartellamt published its "preliminary cartel law assessment" of the 50+1 rule, which essentially maintains that the parent club must always hold a majority share in a separate professional department. While the authority raises no major concerns about 50+1, it highlights potential litigation risks. In view of the exception clubs from Leverkusen and Wolfsburg, the membership issue at RB Leipzig, and the conflict over club-internal instructions (Hannover 96/Martin Kind), the DFL should adjust.
Bayer (majority Bayer AG) and Wolfsburg (majority VW) need to adopt a different structure to address the inequality issue in relation to other clubs. Leipzig needs to ensure that voting members can easily become club members. And the DFL is urged to implement the instructions of the clubs to their representatives during votes.
The DFL presidium aims to address the matter as soon as possible, with the intention of developing a compromise proposal. However, as in the past, the deep fissures between "regular" clubs and unique cases are likely to resurface.
"It's unusual..."
RB Leipzig longs for continued legal certainty with 50+1 and now aims to draw the appropriate conclusions. "It will be essential for the 50+1 rule to be consistently and systematically applied - and that applies to all 36 clubs," it stated in response to a request from "Sportschau."
Reactions at Hannover 96 were predictably unfavorable. The parent club believes its viewpoint is "confirmed" and "therefore demands that the DFB and DFL consistently implement the 50+1 rule and ensure its consistent application at all times." Kind stated: "Now a thorough examination is underway. It's unusual for the cartel office to take seven years to issue such a non-binding recommendation."
Fans broadly appreciated the Bundeskartellamt's assessment. The organization "Our Curve" also made it clear that, with regards to implementation, the DFL is now in focus. Unless courts intervene beforehand.
Community aid could be sought to bolster the defense of the 50+1 rule in German football, as legal avenues are being considered by clubs such as Bayer Leverkusen and VfL Wolfsburg. Meanwhile, in a different sphere, the tension in the European football leagues continues, with Bayer 04 and Wolfsburg facing off against each other in an upcoming football match, potentially influencing their performance on the pitch.
