The German Football Federation (DFB) won’t cover any costs associated with police operations during high-risk matches in the future, the body said in a statement on Friday.
Should the DFB be billed for additional police costs, it will “pass these one, at least on a pro-rata basis, to the respective home clubs,” according to a decision from the DFB executive committee.
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The decision is based on a regulation of the state of Bremen and upheld by the Federal Constitutional Court, under which the imposition of fees in connection with high-risk events is, in principle, lawful.
Since the Saarland state government is currently planning a similar regulation, the DFB felt compelled to make a policy decision regarding the possible allocation of costs.
Regardless, the association still considers charging fees for police costs to be “the wrong approach. The common goal of politicians, the police, associations, and clubs must be to improve local security and reduce the number of police hours at football games. Neither of these goals can be achieved through a fee structure,” DFB President Bernd Neuendorf said.
