The three works clubs and the German Football League (DFL) approached the Federal Cartel Office with specific proposals for a solution to the 50+1 rule. According to Sportschau information, these include grandfathering for the works clubs and no more new exceptions.
Shortly before Christmas, representatives of Bayer 04 Leverkusen, VfL Wolfsburg and TSG Hoffenheim spoke to the Federal Cartel Office in Bonn. There, together with the DFL, they presented their ideas on how the exceptions to the 50+1 rule criticized by the authority could be made competitive for the three clubs.
In a preliminary assessment of the 50+1 rule, the Bundeskartellamt found that the exemption for company clubs was not in line with the club-dominated competition in the Bundesliga, and called on the DFL and clubs to work out solutions.
More club representatives on the committees
The ideas that have now been put forward are intended to finally make the 50+1 rule legally secure. According to information from the sports show, the proposals of the clubs and the league essentially involve three changes that the clubs, which are owned by companies or, in the case of TSG Hoffenheim, by an individual, want to commit to.
In the future, representatives of the parent clubs (eV) are to be firmly established in the committees of the works clubs in order to be able to exercise more control over the owners. The Bundeskartellamt had criticized the fact that the parent club’s influence on the three clubs mentioned could be limited to “zero”. This proposal is intended to prevent this in the future.
However, it remains unclear whether the representatives of the parent associations should then also have the majority in these control bodies and thus be able to make decisions against the owners. But that is the real core of the 50+1 rule. Because with other Bundesliga clubs that have shareholders, the club representatives generally have the say. Even if the majority of the shares in the spun-off professional company are in the hands of investors.
Balanced balance sheets and location guarantee
The second key proposal from the three clubs concerned stipulates that the balance sheets of the works clubs must be balanced. This is intended to take into account the continuing criticism that any losses of the development clubs can be settled by the owners. A competitive advantage over the other Bundesliga clubs.
In addition, the three clubs should undertake that they will only play their games at the current location in the future. This is intended to prevent the clubs from moving to a city – as is common in US professional sports, for example. However, this has never been an issue in the Bundesliga before.
No more exceptions
All this should make the competition fairer. In return, the works associations should enjoy grandfathering. In the future, no further exceptions to the 50+1 rule will be approved. A takeover after 20 years of significant and continuous funding would then no longer be possible, unlike in the past.
This would affect lawn ball sports in Leipzig, for example, where, under the current rule, Red Bull GmbH as an investor could also officially take over RB 2029 as the owner.
DFL believes in a solution in the first quarter
When asked by the sports show, the DFL did not want to comment on the proposals to the Federal Cartel Office. However, DFL interim managing director Oliver Leki was optimistic at the DFL New Year’s reception. “I would be quite confident that we could find a solution with the cartel office in the first quarter. We are really in advanced talks.”he explained.
The rule has been driving the league for far too long. One is also not on a battlefield, but trying to create legal certainty. When asked, the Bundeskartellamt stressed that the evaluation of the proposals was still ongoing. As the authority applying the law, it cannot comment further on statements made in public while the proceedings are ongoing.
When asked by Sportschau, the three works clubs said that they did not want to comment further out of consideration for the ongoing voting process and for reasons of confidentiality. The president of the second division club FC St. Pauli Oke Göttlich, who also sits on the DFL presidium, spoke up and confirmed in an in-house podcast that no further exceptions to the 50+1 rule should be approved in the future.
However, it is understandable that there must be a grandfathering for the three works clubs, says Göttlich: “I don’t think that we can simply dispossess three clubs of their business basis. In that sense, you just have to disappear from the scene here. I think that would be far too great an uproar, which may be the case in further legal cases.” He therefore hopes that the 50+1 rule can be made much more legally secure in the first quarter of 2023.
Compromise acceptable for everyone?
It was precisely this desire for legal certainty that prompted the DFL to submit an application to the Federal Cartel Office in 2018 in order to obtain an assessment of the 50+1 rule. At that time, several clubs and an investor were invited to this process. In addition to the three works clubs, there were 1. FSV Mainz 05, Borussia Dortmund, FC St. Pauli, Hanover 96 and TSV Munich from 1860 eV and its investor HAM International Ltd.. The German Football Association (DFB) and Rasenballsport Leipzig also joined later.
According to information from the sports show, however, not all of those invited were informed about the joint venture by DFL and the three works clubs – including Hannover 96 and 1860 Munich. “There is of course no question that we would find it appropriate to be informed and have accordingly placed a request”explained the presidium of TSV 1860 Munich on request.
From a purely legal point of view, however, the Federal Cartel Office is not obliged to inform those summoned about every single step in connection with the application by the DFL. The league does not have to keep the clubs up to date either. However, it would come as a surprise if the Bundeskartellamt approved the proposals made without any consultation with all those summoned.