Germany: a DFL proposal to the Competition Authority to end exemptions to the "50+1" rule

The board of the Deutsche Fußball Liga GmbH (the DFL's commercial structure) has unanimously agreed to propose to the Bundeskartellamt (the German Competition Authority) to end the possibility of granting exemptions to the "50+1" rule (which reserves the majority of voting rights on the board of a professional club's trading company for the association) in the future, announced the German league on 08/03/2023.

This proposal does, however, include a protective clause for the status of Bundesliga clubs that have benefited from an exemption in the past (TSG 1899 Hoffenheim, Bayer 04 Leverkusen and VfL Wolfsburg), under certain conditions. These include the appointment of a representative of the former association within the commercial company, or a veto right for this representative regarding decisions related to the club's identity.

The DFL's initiative comes after a clarification procedure on the "50+1" rule was initiated by the Bundeskartellamt in May 2021. The body had then found that the possibility of granting exemptions, as well as those already granted, did not allow for the…