The collection of a fee for the police’s additional expenses at “high-risk games” of the Bundesliga is in line with the Basic Law. The First Senate of the Federal Constitutional Court has decided this on Tuesday. The corresponding constitutional complaint of the German Football League (DFL) was therefore unsuccessful.
According to a paragraph of the Bremen Fees and Contribution Act, which came into force in November 2014, a fee is to be collected from the organizers for the police’s additional expenses at large events with more than 5,000 people that are expected to be violent due to their nature. The fee is calculated based on the additional expenses incurred by the police in providing additional personnel.
The Federal Constitutional Court has now decided that while this regulation does indeed infringe on the freedom of occupation of the organizers, as protected by Article 12 of the Basic Law, the interference is nonetheless justified from a constitutional perspective, as the norm is proportionate, according to the court.
The DFL had filed a complaint after the police in Bremen invoiced a fee in the mid-six-figure euro range in April 2015 following a Bundesliga football game between SV Werder Bremen and Hamburger SV. According to the information and assessments at the time, it was highly likely that violent clashes between fans of the two teams would occur on the day of the game. The overall deployment on the day of the game, as evaluated by the police leadership, proceeded smoothly overall.