Chapter 350: Special Exception! Another Special Exception! King Bomb! You Can Only Choose One of the Two! I Come to the Bundesliga to Do Charity [Subscribe]
Every two or three years, there is always news related to the 50+1 policy in German football.
Then, it quickly aroused heated discussions across the country.
From Hannover 96 in 2009, to RB Leipzig, to Hoffenheim in 2014...
Recently, Hannover 96 chairman Martin Kind once again dug up old news and hyped it up again...
Previously, Hamburg and Hertha Berlin had both been reported to be acquired.
Now it's Frankfurt's turn.
It all started with some remarks made by Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung chairman Peter Fischer in an interview with the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.
He believes that money is corrupting German football!
In this interview, Peter Fischer expressed his disappointment with the results of the just-concluded voting of the members of the Frankfurt Supervisory Board.
He just lost the vote 6-3.
Witnessed by government officials, core club management, sponsors and other parties.
But the Frankfurt chairman was dissatisfied with the result, believing that it was created maliciously.
"When I first took office in Frankfurt, we only had 10,000 members. When I said that, a lot of people laughed at us. Now, we have 35,000 members and will continue to grow."
"I am proud of my work over the past decade!"
"Our club has made a lot of contributions to the city of Frankfurt and has established a good image."
“But now, those who have been corrupted by money and capital have jumped out to tell us that all this is outdated!”
"I cannot accept this result."
"Money cannot be the only pursuit of a football club!"
Peter Fischer said that Frankfurt has been in good financial condition over the past few years under his management.
And it has achieved profitability for two consecutive years.
This is a very remarkable thing.
“But they’re still not satisfied!”
who are they?
Frankfurt's finance chief Thomas Foster, in a simultaneous interview with the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, directly took aim at some reformists, led by Wolfgang Stubing.
The figures given by Treasurer Thomas Foster are even clearer.
Frankfurt has made profits for two consecutive years, with a profit of 351,000 euros in the 13/14 season and 1.2 million euros in the 14/15 season.
This is a very positive phenomenon.
This proves that the situation in Frankfurt is getting better.
So why is the team now on the brink of relegation?
Especially in the 8th round, they lost 0-2 to Darmstadt away.
This caused great dissatisfaction among Frankfurt fans.
Who is Darmstadt?
The team is located in the Black Forest, just southwest of Frankfurt, with a population of only 150,000.
In the eyes of Frankfurt fans, no matter how good the team is, it will not lose to this little brother from the same state, right?
But what about now?
Frankfurt is ranked 15th, and the next step is the relegation zone.
Darmstadt came in 10th place.
Peter Fisher first said he was responsible.
But then he turned his attention to the team's head coach Armin Fei.
Armin Fei just accused the team of not giving him enough support in pre-season signings not long ago.
“I don’t understand, what kind of support does he want?”
"Those players who are unrealistic and have no chance of coming to Frankfurt?"
Peter Fischer said he had formally filed a complaint with the German Football Association and the German Football League.
"I think the Frankfurt Supervisory Board's decision violates the German Football Association's 50+1 policy and should be banned!"
In other words, it cannot be submitted to the general meeting of members for voting.
However, Peter Fischer repeatedly emphasized that the 1,148 members would definitely support him and reject the proposal.
…
The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung published an interview with Peter Fischer and Thomas Forster.
But in another report, Wolfgang Stubing was also interviewed.
The latter points out the various problems Frankfurt is currently facing.
Not just finances, but also football and the management of the club.
In the past few years, Frankfurt has been selling shares, otherwise it would not be able to meet the requirements of the German Football Association and the German Football League.
Profit of 350,000 euros and 1.2 million euros?
Then why don’t we calculate how many shares were sold?
How many players were sold?
In an interview with the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Wolfgang Stubing even stated loudly that he understood and took into account all the fans' concerns.
For example, he will bring in a management team with extensive football experience.
He didn't say it explicitly, but the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung directly put a parenthesis at the end: Yang Cheng and his Bayswater Chinese.
Then listed below are Yang Cheng’s successes over the past few years.
Including Bayswater Chinese in the Premier League, Nice in Ligue 1, Atalanta in Serie A, and Malaga in La Liga.
The most amazing thing is that in this season's Eredivisie, Twente, which was just acquired by Yang Cheng, has had an excellent start under the coaching of Peter Bots.
6 wins and 2 draws, remaining unbeaten.
The two draws were a 2-2 draw with Ajax at home and a 2-2 draw with Alkmaar away.
After 8 rounds of games, Twente scored 21 league goals and conceded 5 goals.
Currently ranked first in the Eredivisie standings.
Of course, many people have questioned this result, because apart from Ajax and Alkmaar, Twente has not encountered any other strong teams, and the value of this result still needs to be tested.
But it is undeniable that the Twente team coached by Peter Bots played really beautifully!
This made everyone feel confused.
What kind of magic do Yang Cheng and his team have?
Why can the team he acquired be transformed immediately after passing through his hands?
The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung's comment on this matter was that it acknowledged the feelings of both parties towards the Frankfurt club, but that there were differences in their ideas.
Wolfgang Stubing, who came from the financial industry, was more receptive to changes in the outside world, so he actively wanted to introduce foreign capital and those outstanding football management teams to strengthen Frankfurt itself.
Peter Fischer is more traditional. He sticks to the local German football philosophy and rejects the temptation of money and capital.
But here, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung also raised a question for both sides.
The most authoritative media in the Frankfurt area raised questions about Peter Fischer.
He keeps saying that he sticks to tradition and rejects money and capital, but why has Frankfurt been selling shares to investors in the past? Why are there financial industry investors such as Wolfgang Stubing on the Supervisory Board?
Isn’t this very contradictory?
Also, how does he explain the illusion of profitability of the club?
Over the past few years, Frankfurt's performance has been up and down, and there has long been complaints among Frankfurt's local fans.
Doesn't he know?
What exactly did he and his management team do about it? And how much did they do?
The tradition he keeps talking about, the 50+1 policy, is actually only about ten years old.
Is he sticking to tradition, or is he reluctant to give up the little power he has?
As for Wolfgang Stubing, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung is more sharp and direct.
The introduction of foreign capital is bound to cause strong indignation among most Frankfurt fans.
But why did Stubin do this?
What benefits did foreign investors promise him?
The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung acknowledged the promises made by Yang Cheng's team as relayed by Stubing, including various investments, the transformation of Frankfurt, and even the construction of a stadium specifically for basketball and hockey teams.
This is very tempting indeed!
But what fans are most worried about is that once this local club is acquired by foreign capital and changes from a non-profit organization to private property, who will restrain these investors in the future?
Wolfgang Stubing reacted very quickly to this.
He said that he did not get any promises from investors, and he hoped that the club could develop and grow more as a citizen and fan of Frankfurt.
"If Frankfurt can become a top team like Bayern and Dortmund, that's the benefit I hope to get!"
Regarding restricting investors, Stubin said that the German Football Association and the German Football League both have very complete rules and regulations.
As for the issue that fans are most worried about, Stubin directly threw out the killer weapon.
“Investors are willing to promise that ticket prices will not increase in the next 10 years!”
Stubin said that this was not just empty talk, but a public commitment that he was willing to hand over to the Frankfurt city government for notarization.
On this point, Yang Cheng, Xia Qing and the team made an estimate.
Many people often overlook one point when calculating the prices of Bundesliga tickets.
There are standing tickets for the Bundesliga.
In the Bundesliga, the price of seated tickets is much higher than that of standing tickets.
For example, at Frankfurt, their lowest standing season ticket price is currently 159 euros.
The lowest season ticket price is 379 euros and the highest season ticket price is 653 euros.
Note that these are not VIP seat or box prices.
In the Bundesliga, the stadium has special seats and standing stands, with the standing stands usually at both ends of the stadium.
It uses a detachable seat.
Especially for some teams participating in European competitions, seats are often installed during European competitions and become seat tickets.
When it comes to the Bundesliga, the seats are removed and tickets are changed to standing tickets.
Frankfurt's ticket prices are notoriously low in the entire Bundesliga, ranking 4th from the bottom.
The lowest is Wolfsburg, where the lowest standing ticket price is only 130 euros, followed by Bayern at 140 euros, and then Hoffenheim at 150.
What about the highest one?
Darmstadt is 240 euros, Hamburg is 208.7 euros and Dortmund is 207 euros.
Therefore, in Yang Cheng’s previous life, after Peking University fell into the German Bundesliga, it refused to forgive the Bundesliga no matter what.
Why?
It’s so cool to be in the German 2nd Division!
Charging almost the highest ticket prices in Germany and playing in the German 2nd Division, isn’t that great?
Based on statistics from the past few years and Yang Cheng's experience in his previous life, the team believes that by 2024, the price level of Bundesliga tickets, especially in Frankfurt, should be around 190 euros.
The promise of not raising ticket prices for 10 years actually means that the loss to Yang Cheng’s team is not that big.
But for Frankfurt fans, this is definitely the most sincere and at the same time the most lethal promise.
In Yang Cheng's previous life, Frankfurt's revenue would continue to rise in the next few years under Frankenbach's painstaking management. By 2024, when he traveled through time, it would reach a staggering 240 million euros.
Now what?
Only 70 million euros.
Why?
Because Frankfurt!
Perhaps, Frankfurt is not as good as Hamburg in some aspects, but this city definitely has huge potential and commercial value.
Due to historical and other reasons, Germany does not actually have a strictly defined central city like London, Madrid or Paris.
But there is no doubt that Frankfurt is definitely the economic, financial and aviation center of Germany.
In the current Bundesliga and 2. Bundesliga, Frankfurt has another team, FSV Frankfurt.
But this team is not strong, and its influence in Frankfurt cannot be compared with that of Frankfurt.
Because of this, Frankfurt is the flag of this city.
So much so that Yang Cheng, Adam Crozier and others felt very strange.
Who can bear that a team like this, guarding such a treasure trove, has failed to develop?
It's exactly the same character as the management of Peking King Burger!
In Yang Cheng's previous life, since Stübing took over as chairman of the supervisory board and Frankenbach took over Frankfurt, the club's revenue and management began to gradually get on track.
Not only has the revenue been rising, but the overall strength of the club has also increased.
What really prompted Frankfurt's management to take action was that they were on the verge of relegation this season.
In Yang Cheng's previous life, Frankfurt only finished 16th in the Bundesliga in the 15/16 season.
According to the rules of the Bundesliga and the 2. Bundesliga, the 17th and 18th place in the Bundesliga will be directly relegated, and the champion and runner-up of the 2. Bundesliga will be directly promoted.
But the 16th place in the Bundesliga and the 3rd place in the 2nd Bundesliga will participate in the play-offs.
Frankfurt can be said to have one foot in the coffin.
Moreover, they drew 1-1 with Nuremberg at home in the first leg of the promotion play-offs.
But they finally beat Nuremberg 1-0 away from home, thus escaping death and retaining their Bundesliga qualification.
This also made everyone, including Stubin, agree to reform Frankfurt.
The only difference from the previous life is that there is one more Yang Cheng now.
In short, Yang Cheng and his team went through very detailed deductions and calculations, and finally came to the conclusion that taking over Frankfurt at this time is definitely a very cost-effective deal.
The prerequisite is that you can pass the 50+1 policy.
Therefore, in addition to promising that ticket prices would not increase within 10 years, Yang Cheng's team also made many other promises.
For example, how much charity work should be done for the community and fans every year.
Didn’t the club previously promise to provide low-priced tickets to the middle and low-income groups?
The new team promised not only to pay the same amount, but also to double it!
Over the past few years, Bayswater Chinese have done a lot of public welfare work in London to give back to society, fans and the community. Now, Frankfurt has taken out all of it and promised it to the fans.
For German fans in the past, especially Frankfurt fans, where have they ever seen so many of them?
And all of this is to create a sound.
The Chinese consortium is not here to make money.
In other words, they don't want to make money from fans at all!
On the contrary, the new team will give back to the fans more than ever before.
Why?
What about charity?
Of course not.
The new team is capable of making money from sponsors, broadcasting rights and other areas, so why should it make money from fans?
Isn't this what Bayern Munich has always been advocating?
And the effect of this series of moves is really good.
The key point is that they didn’t just make empty promises, but wrote it directly into the contract and the city government testified to it!
More importantly, the new team has achieved great success in Ligue 1, Serie A, La Liga and Eredivisie.
"In the Bundesliga, our goal is to make Frankfurt the most competitive team in the Bundesliga and a top team worthy of the city of Frankfurt!"
The old team led by Peter Fischer, can you do it?
What else will you do besides selling shares in the club, engaging in corruption and using Frankfurt for your own personal gain?
Listen to what others say, this is what the fans want!
Public opinion quickly turned around.
While public opinion in Germany was in an uproar and even madly attacked Frankfurt for violating the 50+1 policy, the new team received more and more positive comments among Frankfurt's fans and members.
This is also thanks to the full support of Onefootball.
Especially the fan community.
On the second Sunday of October, that is, the 11th, 1,148 member representatives gathered in the Wolfgang Stubing Hall of the training building at the youth training camp in the eastern part of Frankfurt city.
Due to the large number of people, the meeting had to be postponed for 50 minutes.
Members of the Frankfurt City Government, sponsors, the club's key departments, and the Supervisory Board were all present.
Even the German Football Association and the German Professional Football League arranged representatives to attend the voting.
But at this moment, Peter Fisher had completely lost his previous confidence.
He is now like a rooster with red eyes, pecking at anyone he catches.
Representatives from the new Chinese team were allowed to attend the voting site and made written commitments and guarantees on the spot.
All the promises made before will be fulfilled.
Notaries and lawyers were present to give testimony.
After the on-site voting, the result was that 829 out of 1,148 votes chose to support.
209 votes were against.
110 votes were cast to abstain.
Finally, the acquisition proposal passed the Frankfurt Members' Meeting with an overwhelming vote!
Wolfgang Stubing excitedly said that this will be the most memorable day in the history of Frankfurt Club!
It is bound to become a highlight in the history of German football!
As the most open and international city in Germany, Frankfurt's football team has taken the first step in German football reform!
But everyone knows that this is just the beginning!
…
Yang Cheng received a call from the team in Prague, Czech Republic, and learned about the resolution passed by the vote in Frankfurt.
At this moment, he was talking to Bayern's Rummenigge, Dortmund chairman, and Reinhard Raubal, vice chairman of the German Football Association and chairman of the German Football League.
Standing together with Reinhard Grindel, who had just been elected president of the German Football Association.
The three of them came to Prague to attend the UEFA Congress on behalf of Bayern, the German Football Association and the German Football League. They will also serve on the UEFA Executive Committee.
Yes, Germans have won three seats in the new UEFA Executive Committee.
What’s interesting is that the four people received the call almost at the same time, turned around and walked away to answer the call, and when they came back, they looked at each other and laughed at the same time.
The other three people all admired Yang Cheng's abilities.
There are many promises that even Bayern and Dortmund, let alone Frankfurt, cannot make.
For example, ticket prices will not increase in the next 10 years.
But Yang Cheng gave it.
This move is indeed very lethal.
Because German fans insist on the 50+1 policy, they are largely worried about this.
Of course, they are not afraid of price increases in 10 years.
If the price increase is too high, they will march to the city government in protest.
There is always a way to deal with Frankfurt's management.
"I just told them a few days ago that Bayern and Dortmund are good examples for us to learn from."
"Bayern's commercial operation capabilities and Dortmund's home atmosphere management are both very worthy of our learning."
Yang Cheng smiled politely.
The three big guys present also laughed.
"We actually have no control over this matter in Frankfurt. It still depends on you guys." Grindel expressed his opinion.
The biggest problem now is not the German Football Association.
But the German Football League and the fans!
The German Football League is made up of 36 teams from the Bundesliga and the 2. Bundesliga, and all are equal.
The teams that are most supportive of the 50+1 policy are often the 18 teams in the German Second Division and the 10 teams in the middle and lower reaches of the Bundesliga.
Interestingly, Frankfurt has been the strongest supporter in the past.
"There's only so much I can do. You know, I'm like a mascot within the league," Raubal said with a smile.
"understand."
Yang Cheng clasped his hands together and expressed his gratitude to the three people present.
To some extent, their lack of opposition is already the greatest support they can offer.
The reason is very simple. If this acquisition is rejected, the worst that can happen is that I will lose some money and energy, and then I can just walk away.
But what about them?
I will continue to stay in Germany in the future.
As people, you think about me and I think about you, only then can the cooperation last.
"I have already asked someone to say hello to Leverkusen, Wolfsburg and Hoffenheim."
Yang Cheng's words stunned the three people present.
This is when things start to get serious.
"I have also hired the best team of lawyers in sports law and antitrust law. Next, I will ask the Football Association and the Professional Football League to hurry up and reject our acquisition!"
Yang Cheng found it funny when he said this.
Yes.
The most crucial step in his plan is to be rejected!
In fact, no matter from which angle, they would not agree.
Especially considering that there is so much opposition from fans in Germany now, how can we agree to it?
Who dares to agree?
"I'll make a call later and ask my colleagues to quickly study the documents you submitted." Grindel nodded in agreement.
Raubal agreed to this.
But Yang Cheng was anxious.
There is no time to be impatient.
Because there is still a lot to do next.
It is now mid-October, and Yang Cheng still hopes to complete it before February 1, 2016.
But there is also a Christmas in between.
This is very troublesome.
If it is not completed before February 1, if Frankfurt is really relegated, it will be a huge loss.
"No need to look for reasons. The reasons are ready. Frankfurt's qualification to participate in the competition was transferred to Frankfurt AG a few years ago, and the Chinese company is now acquiring all the shares of Frankfurt AG."
"With 100% control, the Chinese company can exercise all rights through Frankfurt AG, which in fact violates the 50+1 policy!"
Raubal, Rummenigge and Grindel all looked at each other.
Have you ever seen such people and things?
This world is so absurd!
They even helped me find reasons to oppose. That’s outrageous!
"Okay, ask them to submit it quickly, and I'll make a phone call." Raubal laughed.
I don't care anyway. I'll just do my job impartially. There's nothing wrong with that.
Grindel has the same attitude.
Yang Cheng looked at Rummenigge, "Didn't you intend to stand up and support me last time?"
"Did I say that?" Rummenigge forgot.
"Didn't you say that?" Yang Cheng asked back with a laugh.
Rummenigge immediately knew that the kid was joking.
"What are you going to do next?"
"Sue."
"Then what?"
"If it doesn't work in Germany, I will sue at the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg."
If the EU still can't do it, then there is really nothing we can do.
Cases like this cannot be resolved overnight.
It will take at least a few months.
No wonder Yang Cheng was anxious.
…
As Frankfurt approved the acquisition plan, it immediately began to submit various materials to the German Football Association and the German Football League, which immediately attracted strong attention from the German domestic media.
Public opinion is getting more and more intense.
Especially German fans.
First, Frankfurt fans who opposed the takeover went to the club office and outside the Frankfurt city government to protest.
Then fans in other cities protested the takeover.
The reason is simple: this deal violates the 50+1 policy.
According to the 50+1 policy, the Chinese consortium's acquisition of 100% of the shares of Frankfurt GmbH is actually not affected.
But the problem is that Frankfurt AG holds the qualification for Frankfurt Club to participate in the German Professional League.
If you are qualified to participate, you have the right to vote.
However, according to the 50+1 policy, investors can only get a maximum of 49% of the voting rights.
Therefore, unless the Chinese consortium transfers the participation qualification back to the club’s membership meeting, it will be a violation!
Because in Germany, the ownership of football clubs belongs to the fan members!
There are only three teams that are exceptions.
Wolfsburg and Leverkusen, both long-running clubs, have been exceptions from the outset.
Hoffenheim's investment is long-term, lasting more than 20 years, so an exception was made.
But even so, Hoffenheim investor Hopp holds 96% of the club's shares and actually only has 49% of the voting rights.
Of course, everyone knows that this is just an external statement.
RB Leipzig?
No, RB Leipzig is not an exception.
From a legal perspective, they still strictly abide by the 50+1 policy.
This time, the German Football Association and the German Football League responded quickly, actively responded to the focus issues that the media and fans were keenly concerned about, and immediately held a press conference.
Both of the two major German football management organizations have stated without exception that the Chinese consortium's acquisition of Frankfurt violates Germany's 50+1 policy and will not be allowed by the German Football Association and the German Football League.
If both parties still insist on completing the deal, Frankfurt will be deprived of the qualification to participate in the German professional league.
As soon as the news was made public, it immediately received huge support in Germany.
Most Bundesliga fans actively oppose foreign takeovers.
Even though the promises made by the Chinese consortium are very attractive, it is still not allowed!
Because these promises were made to Frankfurt, not to fans across Germany.
The statements made by the German Football Association and the German Football League also caused a huge response in Frankfurt.
Those fans who had supported the takeover were disappointed, while those who had been strongly opposed to the takeover were very excited.
Frankfurt chairman Peter Fischer even said in an interview with Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, "This is a victory for football!"
"A great victory in defense of tradition!"
As long as the acquisition is not completed, he will remain the chairman of Frankfurt.
But on the second day after the German Football Association and the German Football League blocked the acquisition, the Chinese consortium's representative lawyer in Germany appeared in Karlsruhe in southwest Germany.
Lawyers, on behalf of the Chinese consortium, formally sued the German Football Association and the German Football League in the German Federal Court.
The reason for the lawsuit is that the regulations of the two institutions violate EU and German antitrust laws.
"It restricts market access to participating football clubs, monopolists abuse their power and leave investors in the German market with no choice!"
"The only way to play in the Bundesliga is if we obey these rules. This is an abuse of monopoly power!"
Lawyers representing the Chinese consortium said the regulation could not withstand judicial and antitrust scrutiny because it disproportionately restricted competition in the sports company equity market.
The German Federal Court announced that it had accepted the case.
This immediately sparked heated discussions throughout Germany again.
The Chinese consortium took the German Football Association and the German Football League to court at the same time.
A spokesperson for the executive committee of the German Football League (DFL) said in an interview with media reporters that the 50+1 policy is a fundamental component of German football.
The DFL will actively cooperate with the federal court's investigation, but there is no problem with the policy itself.
"As a professional football league, we have to ensure that our league laws are rooted in society and that competitive sport, and especially the licensed teams, remain closely connected to the German public."
Regarding the legal issues of the 50+1 policy, the DFL’s representative lawyer pointed out that the DFL did not violate the antitrust law.
"The Football Association, within the framework of its autonomy as a sports organization, is fundamentally independent of the state and has the right to adopt its own regulations to maintain the existence of grassroots sports and a controllable capital system."
“This is a very important value in sports!”
The German Football Fans' Union is firmly opposed to the entry of investors and said they are actively organizing more protests in the hope of having a greater social impact.
"Our demands are simple: to consistently implement the 50+1 policy. Apart from that, there is no room for negotiation for anything else. We will defend the 50+1 policy at all costs!"
Not only that, the German Fans Association also demanded that the DFL and the German Football Association must immediately make a statement.
"If Frankfurt is unwilling to abide by the 50+1 policy, they can get out of the professional league. We do not welcome such a club to exist in our league system!"
There are also many rational fans who believe that since it involves antitrust, the German Federal Cartel Office should come forward to review the 50+1 policy. If it does violate the antitrust law, then they should find ways to make up for it and plug this loophole as soon as possible.
The Chinese consortium's lawyers were obviously well prepared.
The next time he was interviewed by media reporters, he directly presented the evidence.
This is stipulated in Article 16C of the German Football Association (DFB) Statutes and Article 8 of the German Football League (DFL) Statutes.
Only companies in which the respective clubs hold a majority of the voting shares are allowed to participate in the league's match business.
But there are exceptions.
Article 8, paragraph 3 of the DFL statutes states: Under certain conditions, commercial enterprises that have invested in and promoted club football for 20 consecutive years are allowed to control league participants on their own.
Wolfsburg, Leverkusen and Hoffenheim, these three teams, all circumvent the 50+1 policy through Article 8, paragraph 3, which is the exception familiar to all fans.
According to EU and German antitrust laws, if Germany's 50+1 policy is based on social and moral reasons that deserve encouragement, as the DFB and DFL say, it will benefit from exemptions from antitrust laws.
Then, it must treat all members in a unified, consistent and non-discriminatory manner.
Here comes the problem.
If you DFB and DFL insist, the 50+1 policy applies to the exemptions in the antitrust law.
So, how did Wolfsburg, Leverkusen and Hoffenheim get exceptions?
On the other hand, if you think it is reasonable for Wolfsburg, Bayer Leverkusen and Hoffenheim to get special exceptions, then you have violated the antitrust law.
You choose!
You can only choose one of the two. What's wrong with you?
This can almost be said to be a king bomb!
When the lawyer threw it down, except for the fans who were still protesting, marching and venting passionately, everything from the DFB to the DFL was silent.
The German media interviewed many lawyers and court judges who are proficient in sports law, and asked for their opinions on the lawyers representing the Chinese consortium. Almost everyone believed that there was no way!
The decisive blow!
But is that all?
No!
Many fans actually have a misunderstanding.
It is believed that the 50+1 policy was born after the bankruptcy of the Kirch Group and the huge bankruptcy crisis of the Bundesliga teams.
Actually not.
It was born in 1998.
The Kirsch Group went bankrupt in 2001.
Everyone knows that the Bundesliga was at its peak in 1998.
At that time, the entire German football was undergoing a vigorous club shareholding reform, and clubs such as Dortmund went public at that time.
If you want to go public and attract investors, you must carry out shareholding reform.
Hence, the 50+1 policy came into being.
But Wolfsburg and Leverkusen are very special teams.
They could almost be called a factory team.
This was a balancing act at the time.
The same thing happened to Hoffenheim later.
After all, after investing for so many years and bringing a rural team to the Bundesliga, isn't that enough?
But the problem is that this does violate antitrust laws and limits the entry threshold.
To put it bluntly, what qualifications do German fans have to scold RB Leipzig?
They have set limits on membership, isn’t that exactly the same as your German Football Association setting limits on club investment thresholds?
The German Federal Cartel Office, headquartered in Berlin, soon issued a statement that they would review the 50+1 policy at the request of the German Federal Court.
This news immediately aroused the vigilance of countless people.
Even many fans realized that something really went wrong.
Fabian Reinholz, an expert in sports and intellectual property law in Berlin, said in an interview with the media, "From the current situation, it is basically established that DFB and DFL violated the antitrust law!"
In an interview, Munich antitrust law expert Ohls revealed that if the 50+1 policy is found to have violated German and EU antitrust laws, then the 36 teams in the DFL will be obliged to pay compensation to their respective investors to compensate for their losses.
The specific amount will depend on how the court decides in the end!
Public opinion suddenly reversed.
Although the Fans' Union is still shouting the slogan "Football belongs to the fans", they are already very clear.
This is a very deadly crisis!
Chinese investors come prepared.
They found the legal loopholes in the 50+1 policy and hit it directly.
…
Afternoon of November 20th.
Frankfurt, headquarters of the German Professional League.
German football dignitaries including Football Association President Grindel, Vice President and Professional League President Laubal, and representatives of 36 Bundesliga and 2. Bundesliga clubs gathered together and sat in a spacious and bright conference room.
What they were discussing was something that made all of them feel depressed.
"We held talks with a group of representatives from the Federal Cartel Office and received a very clear message."
“The result was very unfavorable to us!”
Grindel announced the result with a hint of sadness.
Everyone present reacted relatively calmly.
Including representatives from 36 clubs.
Because over the past month, they have received information from all sides and are mentally prepared for this result.
Especially recently, the European Court of Justice also intervened.
Only the rules of sports associations that do not cause particular harm in themselves can be considered for exemption from antitrust law.
To put it simply, Germany's 50+1 policy itself imposes restrictions and constraints on investors, while failing to achieve consistent treatment.
Although the result was already known, everyone still felt depressed when it came.
"What should we do now?" asked an anxious club representative.
Grindel sighed. "We have already discussed with the Cartel Office. They will postpone the announcement of the results. We must seize this period of time to come up with a rectification plan as soon as possible."
"How do I change it?"
"Wolfsburg, Leverkusen and Hoffenheim must set up a committee above the clubs to provide guidance on how to proceed."
"We have spoken to the Cartel Office and they think it is feasible."
“But this solution only works once.”
Representatives from Wolfsburg, Leverkusen and Hoffenheim all expressed their support for the rectification and full cooperation.
"The biggest problem now is that both the Federal Court and the Cartel Office have advised us to end this lawsuit as soon as possible, preferably through an out-of-court settlement."
Representatives from the 36 clubs looked at each other in bewilderment.
Out-of-court settlement?
That means discussing and negotiating with the Chinese consortium.
“The Federal Court has also made it very clear to me that once the Cartel Office issues its report, it will be difficult for us to win even if they want to help us.”
"Even if we win at home, we will definitely lose if the other party takes the case to the European Court of Justice."
"Until then..."
Grindel glanced over the representatives of the 36 clubs present.
He discovered that the representative from Frankfurt was not Chairman Peter Fischer, but Oliver Frankenbach.
It is obvious that the transfer of power within Frankfurt has been completed ahead of schedule.
Yang Cheng is so cunning!
Even if he loses the acquisition by the German Federal Court, they will sue the European Union, which will be a protracted lawsuit.
But now, he has become impatient to push forward the acquisition and exercise his power in advance.
"If the Federal Court or the European Court of Justice rules against us, then the 36 clubs present here, as well as our German professional clubs, will have to pay compensation to our shareholders."
As soon as these words were spoken, the conference room exploded.
All the previous judgments were about the overall situation.
Especially for clubs in the middle and lower reaches and the German 2nd Division, they are more focused on defending the 50+1 policy.
But now?
If they lose, each of their clubs will have to pay.
This is like cutting their flesh, it hurts so much!
But this is inevitable.
Many lawyers have already issued warnings before.
Unless the shareholders give up voluntarily.
But think about it, this amount of money is probably not too little, would the shareholders be stupid enough to not want it?
Ask yourself, are their shareholders that generous?
"The situation is now before us. We can either file a lawsuit or fight to the end with the other party."
"Or we can come forward and negotiate with the other party and try to reach an out-of-court settlement."
"Everyone please express your opinions. I respect everyone's decision!"
After Grindel finished speaking, he almost couldn't help but smile.
Many people feel that the German Football Association president is very powerful.
Little did he know that he often suffered from the bullying of these clubs on a daily basis.
When has he ever felt so relieved as he does now?
How can one say that Yang Cheng is indeed capable?
They hired some big lawyers, and they were able to find even such obscure legal loopholes. It's impossible not to admire them!
Fortunately, Yang Cheng and I are friends who stand together.
The 36 clubs were noisy and quarrelsome.
It was clear that everyone disagreed.
Some people support fighting to the end and are not afraid of him.
But some people also believe that we should hurry up and settle the case out of court.
It will only be more disadvantageous to them when the Cartel Office makes its review report public.
Some people even questioned Oliver Frankenbach on the spot whether Frankfurt is a German club?
Why help the Chinese bully your own people?
Frankenbach also looked innocent: I'm just a businessman.
I don't do this kind of thing!
However, no matter how much you argue, you have to give an answer in the end.
Time waits for no one.
In the end, when the vote was taken, 31 out of 36 clubs supported an out-of-court settlement.
Two voted against and three abstained.
However, based on the terms of the out-of-court settlement, the parties quarreled again.
Obviously, the best way to persuade Chinese investors to withdraw their lawsuit is to accept their acquisition of Frankfurt.
As long as we agree to their acquisition, the problem will be solved.
But this is undoubtedly a very difficult decision for the 36 clubs.
Even though Grindel repeatedly reiterated that this was a special case.
Just like Hoffenheim.
Afterwards, the DFB and DFL will cooperate with the Cartel Office to improve the 50+1 policy at the legal level to achieve compatibility with the Antitrust Law.
But it is still hard for everyone to accept.
Previously, Wolfsburg and Leverkusen were exceptions.
Later, Hoffenheim was an exception.
Now, foreign investment has become an exception.
After that, won’t the 50+1 policy become even more of a dead end?
But Grindel couldn't do anything.
If we don’t make this exception, how can we convince the Chinese consortium to withdraw the lawsuit?
What bargaining chips can be used to negotiate with the other party and reach an out-of-court settlement?
Everyone was speechless.
Because the other party is richer than them!
What can we talk about?
Finally, Grindel and Raubal stepped forward and, as usual, voted to decide.
Give everyone ample time to consider before voting.
The result was that 24 out of 36 clubs supported it, but they repeatedly stressed that it was only this time!
12 opposed.
This time, no one abstained.
Grindel accepted the voting results and said that he would form a team in the near future to negotiate with Chinese investors.
But after the meeting, as he walked out of the conference room, he secretly sent a text message to Yang Cheng.
Done!
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
