Bremen’s Interior Senator Ulrich Mäurer has pleaded with the Federal Constitutional Court for German professional football to make an appropriate contribution to police costs for so-called high-risk games. The federal states continue to be heavily burdened by the additional police effort at Bundesliga games, said the SPD politician. Measures to counteract the potential for violence during the games have not yet had the desired effect. The taxpayer bears the costs.
High-risk games are games in which clashes between fan camps are particularly likely. Since Thursday, the highest German court has been dealing with the question of whether the German Football League (DFL) can be charged for police costs for such games.
With the constitutional complaint, the league is defending itself against the fee schedule in Bremen, according to which the city can charge organizers money for greater police work at certain major events. From the DFL’s perspective, the regulation created in 2014 is unconstitutional.
Nine games classified as high risk games
The DFL, as the umbrella organization of the 1st and 2nd Bundesliga, sees the financing of police efforts as the responsibility of the federal states. The city state of Bremen wants to pass on part of the costs to the league. A judgment is only expected in a few months.
The step towards charging fees was not easy for the city state of Bremen, said Mäurer. He was always concerned with appropriate participation. Only nine games have been classified as so-called red games – i.e. high-risk games – since the controversial regulation was introduced, said Mäurer. In the Bremen case, it is only a matter of one game per season in which the DFL would be asked to pay. In other European countries, organizers of football games would also have to contribute to the costs.
© Lea Dohle
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The DFL received its first fee notice in 2015 – for a Bundesliga game between SV Werder Bremen and Hamburger SV. More followed. According to the city of Bremen, total fees amount to more than three million euros, of which the DFL is said to have paid around two million so far.
At the start of the negotiations, the DFL emphasized safety at games. “The fact is that the Bundesliga clubs are investing significantly in preventive measures,” said DFL managing director Marc Lenz. “It is also a fact that the stadium experience in Germany is very safe. And with up to 20 million spectators per year.”
Danger for the 3rd league?
Football generally has an impact that goes beyond 90 minutes, said Lenz. This includes all aspects of society, all positive but also negative. The police are a very important partner in preventative measures.
DFL lawyer Bernd Hoefer warned that fees would overwhelm third division clubs – which play under the umbrella of the German Football Association (DFB). According to DFL lawyer Jürgen Paepke, police costs of 400,000 euros can lead to greater difficulties for a “third division team or for a team in the regional league.”
Essentially, it’s about safety at major events of all kinds, said Lenz about the legal dispute, which has now lasted nine years. Hoefer pointed out that the police costs for climate activists at the motor show in Munich will not be billed to the organizer. In addition, the police would decide for themselves the number of operational hours that would ultimately be billed.
Bremen’s Interior Senator Ulrich Mäurer has pleaded with the Federal Constitutional Court for German professional football to make an appropriate contribution to police costs for so-called high-risk games. The federal states continue to be heavily burdened by the additional police effort at Bundesliga games, said the SPD politician. Measures to counteract the potential for violence during the games have not yet had the desired effect. The taxpayer bears the costs.
High-risk games are games in which clashes between fan camps are particularly likely. Since Thursday, the highest German court has been dealing with the question of whether the German Football League (DFL) can be charged for police costs for such games.
