Sports law expert Paul Lambertz sees little chance of success for football fans to take legal action against the partial exclusion of spectators at the second division derby between Eintracht Braunschweig and Hannover 96. “There is no right to watch a football match,” the sports law specialist told the German Press Agency.
On the initiative of the Lower Saxony Interior Minister Daniela Behrens (SPD), the Braunschweig team announced this week that they would only allow 60 percent of the usual number of away fans from Hanover to attend the Lower Saxony duel on October 6. The reason for this is the riots at both duels between Braunschweig and Hanover last season. Behrens had even threatened several times to order a derby without any away fans at all.
“No right to a ticket”
The Hannover Fan Support Association says it is considering legal action against the decision. But Lambertz argues: “Even in a normal sale, there may be 5,000 interested parties for 2,000 guest tickets. That means there is no entitlement to a ticket. And if I don’t have the entitlement, my legal position is not affected by such a decision.”
Supporters from Hanover are now considering overturning the partial exclusion with a different argument. According to them, a requirement of the German Football League (DFL) to give ten percent of all tickets to the visiting club can no longer be met in Braunschweig under these circumstances.
“Yes, there is an agreement between the DFL and the clubs,” Lambertz said. “But if two clubs agree to limit the number of spectators for safety reasons, I don’t see any problem in principle. Safety is an objective reason.”
© dpa-infocom, dpa:240914-930-232175/1
This is a message directly from the dpa news channel.
