German football matches deemed high-risk by the police, which require a significant security deployment, are associated with high additional personnel costs. Matches that are considered high-risk are those where violent clashes between fan groups are expected.
Since years, there has been a dispute about who should bear the additional costs. Many cities want the German Football League (DFL) to be held liable for the costs. The DFL, which organizes the 36 football clubs of the Bundesliga and the 2nd Bundesliga, rejects the demands, arguing that the police are responsible for maintaining public order and that, for example, the organizers of protest demos should not have to pay for the necessary police presence either.
The city of Bremen, however, did not follow this argument. After a high-risk match in the Weser-Stadium against Hamburger SV in April 2015, the city issued a bill of over 425,000 euros to the DFL for the additional police costs that arose around the game.
The basis for the billing is the Bremen Fees and Contribution Act, which has allowed the city since 2014 to charge fees for police overtime costs at events with more than 5,000 people that are expected to be violent or profitable.
The DFL refused to pay the costs, and so the matter went to the administrative court, and eventually to the Federal Administrative Court. With its constitutional complaint, the DFL has now failed. Because the court in Karlsruhe ruled on Tuesday that clubs can be involved in the costs of the police deployment.
The challenged norm is in line with the constitution, declared the presiding judge, Stephan Harbarth, in the verdict. The aim of the regulation is to shift the costs to the one who has incurred them and who has the profits. This is a legitimate goal under constitutional law.
The DFL had previously argued that it lacked a discernible, attributable performance by the city of Bremen. This is a constitutional prerequisite for a lawful fee. Moreover, it is not the organizers, but individual troublemakers who are responsible for the necessary police presence.
The ruling is a landmark decision with unforeseen consequences.
In a first reaction to the landmark ruling, the state of Berlin stated that it is not currently considering involving football clubs in the costs of police deployments at high-risk matches. “We will evaluate the ruling of the Federal Constitutional Court and its reasoning as soon as it is available. However, my position remains that the state of Berlin does not plan to involve clubs in the costs of additional expenses for police deployments in the context of high-risk matches” said the Interior and Sports Senator, Iris Spranger, to the dpa.
The fan association ‘Unsere Kurve’ took the Karlsruhe ruling in a state of shock. “It is to be feared that this will cause long-term damage to the state of the Republic of Germany” the association said in a statement.
“After our understanding and in line with the views of countless experts, the guarantee of public safety and order is a core task of the state” the association said further. And this guarantee should be achieved through state funds, the association, which points out that the German professional football league generates around 1.6 billion euros in taxes for the state every year, adds.
According to Thomas Kessen, the spokesperson of the fan association, the ruling should also be “fair and equal” for all public large events:
“We expect the Free State of Bremen to send annual bills to the organizers of the Bremen Freimarkts. The Oktoberfest in Munich, the Cologne Carnival, and the New Year’s Eve parties on the Brandenburg Gate must also be billed to the organizers. Whether we as a society want that, can be doubted – and so can be the today’s ruling.”
Through the ruling, the police work would be reduced to a “simple service” the first chairman of ‘Unsere Kurve’ notes. “It is now unavoidable that the clubs must be given decision-making authority in the planning of police deployments, and that overdimensioned police deployments must finally come to an end” says Jost Peters.
Linda Röttig, a member of the board of the umbrella organization of fan help, also criticized the ruling:
“The today’s ruling of the Federal Constitutional Court is a free pass for a police apparatus that is becoming increasingly aggressive and martial.”
The DFL itself holds the consequences of the ruling for not yet being clear. These would only show in the coming weeks and months, the association said.