Security is a very important part of football, organising the security aspect of football games worldwide, especially in these times of global unrest has become all the more expensive. In Germany, there are derbies that require more security and as usual this cost extra, The games are called Red or high-risk games. This exactly is the reason for a legal battle between the state of Bremen and the Deutsche Fussball Liga (DFL), the body responsible for managing the German Bundesliga 1 and 2.
One of such games comes up this Saturday and that is called the Nothern Derby, Between Werder Bremen and Hamburger SV, both teams are based in the Nothern part of Germany.
Hamburg SV will be a guest of Werder Bremen. But Shortly before the high-risk game, the Supreme Court of Bremen ruled that the German Football League must share in the additional costs for police operations. A decision that is set to be a new and interesting trend in Germany.
The high administrative court, known in Germany as Oberverwaltungsgericht (OVG) Bremen has basically declared the fees charged by the federal state of Bremen to the German Football League to be lawful. Thus, the city may participate in the association of additional costs for police operations in so-called red or high-risk games in the Bundesliga.
The Bremen police have been sending regular fee notifications since 2015 to the DFL, which manages the operational business of the League Association, which includes the 36 clubs and corporations of the first and second Bundesliga. In the meantime, around two million euros have been accumulated for several games. In court, the game that was used as an example was the game Werder VS HSV on April 19, 2015. After this game, the state, Bremen sent a bill of over four Hundred and Twenty-Five Thousand Euros (425, 000) for police extra costs in the DFL, which was delivered to the mailbox of the league body.
The DFL had won the case in May 2017 before the Administrative Court of Bremen with a lawsuit against a fee notice. This verdict has now been overturned on appeal
The football matches are also economically successful due to the security benefits of the police, the court justified its decision. Cost sharing cannot be ruled out only because security is the core task of the state. The dispute is likely to continue before the Federal Administrative Court. A revision was allowed.
Northern Derby on Saturday
The dispute between Bremen and the Football League revolves around the question of whether professional football may be involved in the costs of police extra costs in so-called red or high-risk games. In such games – such as the Nordderby between Werder Bremen and Hamburger SV on Saturday in Bremen – there are considerable additional costs for intensified police operations in the face of potential fan riots.
Photo Credit: dpa and Bongarts/Getty Images
