Oke Göttlich, President of FC St. Pauli, has clearly rejected an end to the 50+1 rule.
“When craakers appear and say: Oh, 50+1 can go away, we’re splitting the leagues – giving in to that in any way is exactly the wrong sign,” said Göttlich in the sports show. “Because here it was a decision of the democratic order 50+1, which prevailed through the clubs and associations.” Göttlich is one of nine members of the DFL executive committee.
Leverkusen’s Carro: “It would be good for German football not to have the regulation”
Bayer Leverkusen’s managing director Fernando Carro had previously spoken out in favor of lifting the 50+1 rule. The implementation of such a requirement should be left to each club itself. “It would be good for German football not to have this general regulation,” said Carro on “DAZN”. “I’m not saying that there shouldn’t be 50+1, but it should be up to each club whether they do it or not,” said Carro.
Fernando Carro, Managing Director of Bayer 04 Leverkusen
Before the new vote on the entry of an investor into the DFL in December, Carro had also brought up a spin-off of the Bundesliga from the 2nd Bundesliga. However, this would be difficult to implement under association law. Other changes remain conceivable; there is talk of “partial autonomy” for the Bundesliga, which would allow the clubs in the upper house to remain within themselves when making certain decisions.
50+1 rule
The 50+1 rule states that the majority of voting shares in a spun-off professional department of a club should always be in the hands of the parent club determined by members. The influence of investors is therefore limited. An exception applies to Bayer 04 Leverkusen and VfL Wolfsburg. These exceptions were justified with “uninterrupted and significant support over at least 20 years”.
The Federal Cartel Office is continuing to examine 50+1 after the Hanover case
On the initiative of the DFL, the Federal Cartel Office should examine the 50+1 rule with regard to its compatibility with competition law. The end of the process was ultimately considered a formality because there was a compromise: This stipulated that the DFL would impose conditions for Bayer Leverkusen and VfL Wolfsburg, where 50+1 did not apply. In addition, there should be no new exceptions to the rule.
Association rules must be transparent, objective, precise and non-discriminatory, the Federal Cartel Office said upon request. Therefore, this must also be demonstrated in its practical application. “This handling can allow conclusions to be drawn as to whether the DFL is consistently and consistently pursuing the objectives of the rule,” the cartel office continued. The question now is how the Hannover 96 case will be assessed by the office.
Presidium DFL eV Person Club Position Hans-Joachim Watzke Borussia Dortmund Speaker Oliver Leki SC Freiburg 1st deputy Steffen Schneekloth Holstein Kiel 2nd deputy Jan-Christian Dreesen Bayern Munich member Oke Göttlich FC St. Pauli member Axel Hellmann Eintracht Frankfurt member Holger Schwiewagner SpVgg Gr . Fürth member Marc Lenz DFL member Steffen Merkel DFL member
Divine: “We have to position ourselves credibly”
After rejecting the investor model, it is also unclear whether and how the DFL will make the investments in digitalization and internationalization that practically all clubs have considered necessary. Loans, new advertising measures or the use of existing income were discussed.
With a view to how the vote came about and Martin Kind’s role at Hannover 96, Göttlich spoke of a “right decision” in terms of credibility and understanding of democracy to stop the deal.
Göttlich called for a vision for the league that the 36 clubs would have to develop together with fans and members. To achieve this, the DFL must position itself credibly, for example at 50+1. After that, we have to “make sure that we get money into the league on an equal footing. And I am also convinced that we can do that.”