Bundesliga games Federal Constitutional Court is negotiating the costs of police operations – that’s what it’s all about
Especially during football derbies – like this one between Hannover 96 and Eintracht Braunschweig in November 2023 – the police effort is enormous
© Moritz Frankenberg / DPA
Who pays for police operations during high-risk games in the Bundesliga? The DFL and Bremen are arguing about this. What arguments the Federal Constitutional Court is now dealing with.
Lots of police at the train station, more officers in the city: If an explosive derby takes place in the Bundesliga, the emergency services in many places are on alert. The Federal Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe is now dealing with the question of who has to pay the additional costs resulting from such high-risk games. (Ref. 1 BvR 548/22)
It was about a dispute between the German Football League (DFL) and the Hanseatic city of Bremen that had been taking place in various courts for years. Bremen billed the DFL for the additional costs for such games – which the DFL considers unconstitutional.
How much effort does the police put into Bundesliga games?
There are 500 to 600 law enforcement officers on duty at normal Bundesliga games in Bremen, and 800 to 1,000 at high-risk games, as was explained at the hearing. Bremen police director Michael Zander described the great effort before such games, which were classified as “red games”, in court: These games had already occupied the police weeks beforehand, he said. This would be discussed with the club and with fan organizations. Above all, important information is how the fans arrived so that the police can prevent them from clashes in the city.
A game is classified as red if the police assume that without the use of strong forces there would very likely be violent disputes that could possibly even affect non-participants. The local police officers are often supported by forces from other federal states.
Why are Bremen and the DFL arguing?
Bremen passed new regulations in 2014. Accordingly, the organizers of large, profit-oriented events may have to pay higher police costs – namely when more than 5,000 people are expected to come together and experience shows that violence is to be expected, so that more police forces have to be deployed. To calculate the fee amount, the average costs for a less risky green or yellow game are deducted from the expenses.
Other federal states have not yet asked their football clubs to pay and are apparently waiting for the Federal Constitutional Court’s ruling.
How many games are there?
According to the DFL, there were 52 so-called “red games” out of a total of 612 matches in the 1st and 2nd leagues in the 2022/23 season.
According to Bremen Interior Senator Ulrich Mäurer (SPD), around 170 home games have taken place in the Weser Stadium over the past ten years, nine of which were classified as high-risk games. Bremen expects the DFL to pay a total of three million euros in additional police costs, said Mäurer. “In view of the overall effort, I think this is an appropriate contribution.”
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Since when has the dispute been before the courts?
The Bremen police sent the DFL the first fee notice for more than 400,000 euros after the northern derby between SV Werder Bremen and Hamburger SV in April 2015. The DFL sued, but was unsuccessful. In 2019, the Federal Administrative Court in Leipzig ruled that it was fundamentally legal for professional football to share in additional costs for police operations.
What position does the DFL take?
She argues that ensuring public safety is a core state responsibility and must be paid for by the state. Individual disruptors and not the organizers are responsible for the increased effort involved in risky games.
DFL representative Wolfgang Ewer argued in court that the organizer only exercises his house rules in the stadium and can, for example, deny access to violent fans. If there are problems outside the stadium, he has no options. The Federal Administrative Court’s view that the club particularly benefits from police work also does not hold water: protecting Bremen’s city center is not a special service to the club. In addition, the additional effort involved in risky games cannot be precisely defined, the DFL continued.
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.”
What do lawyers say about the controversial issue?
“The question at the center of the proceedings has been discussed politically and socially, but also legally, for many years,” said court president Stephan Harbarth. It is unclear whether and, if so, how much fees may be imposed on organizers – or whether the general public must bear these costs.
According to the German Lawyers’ Association, things are not looking good for the DFL’s lawsuit in the legal dispute. “In the end, we see it the same way as the Federal Administrative Court. The DFL’s fundamental rights are not violated,” said Sebastian Nellesen, member of the DAV’s Constitutional Law Committee, before the hearing of the German Press Agency. The controversial paragraph in the Bremen Fees and Contributions Act is constitutional.
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“Ultimately it is a political question whether you want to introduce appropriate fees or not,” explained Nellesen. “But this is not a question that the Federal Constitutional Court has to decide.” This decision rests with the legislators, in this case the respective state parliaments. How many countries would follow Bremen’s example if the lawsuit were dismissed remains an open question.
When is a verdict expected?
A verdict will probably only be made in months. If it comes, it could be groundbreaking. In other federal states, too, people are constantly thinking about making professional football share in the higher costs of police operations.
The Karlsruhe decision will “fundamentally change the deadlocked situation,” said Interior Senator Mäurer. If the constitutional complaint were rejected, “other countries will also decide to share the costs.”
tkr AFP DPA
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