Bundesliga clubs must contribute to police costs for high risk matches-court

BERLIN : German soccer clubs must pay their share of increased policing costs during high-risk matches, the country's federal Constitutional Court said on Tuesday, ending a more than decade-long dispute over who should shoulder the additional financial burden of such games.

The court ruled that a 2014 law of Bremen, whereby clubs must pay their share of such increased costs, was in accordance with the constitution.

It rejected the constitutional complaint filed by the German Football League (DFL) which runs the top two professional divisions.

The dispute dates back to that law by Bremen which had ordered professional soccer clubs to contribute financially for the increased police deployment required for games that are considered high-risk and could lead to potential crowd trouble.

So far Bremen is the first federal state to introduce such payments for any for-profit major event with more than 5,000 spectators which could, based on experience, lead to violence.

The DFL could not be immediately reached for a comment.