Federal Administrative Court delivers verdict

Friday

Federal Administrative Court delivers verdict on police costs

In the legal dispute regarding the charging of fees for the deployment of police at football matches, the Federal Administrative Court has referred the case back to the Higher Administrative Court of Bremen. The Court deems the establishment of the facts by the Higher Administrative Court to be insufficient on several points. The Higher Administrative Court is now obliged to clarify the outstanding matters and to reach a new decision in the dispute over the charging of fees that complies with the legal opinion of the Federal Administrative Court.

"The court has determined that the party liable to pay the fees is entitled to a review of the costs specifically charged by the police. In our opinion, the deployment of police in the public space outside of the stadium continues to protect, first and foremost, the general public and not to protect the event. The security within the stadium that is needed to conduct the matches will continue to be the responsibility of the clubs," explained DFL President Dr. Reinhard Rauball.

The subject of the procedure is the charging of fees for the deployment of police at the fixture between SV Werder Bremen and Hamburger SV on 19 April 2015. In the first instance, the Administrative Court of Bremen had in its verdict of 17 May 2017 upheld the complaint of the DFL against the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen and annulled the charging of fees, as the determination of fees had been unlawful. In the appeal procedure, the Upper Administrative Court of Bremen repealed the first-instance verdict and rejected the DFL's complaint against the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen. The DFL lodged an appeal against this verdict with the Federal Administrative Court and requested the annulment of the verdict of the Higher Administrative Court of Bremen.

Tuesday

Handing over of donation made by ''Crescendo Hohenlohe'' fan club

As part of the home match against 1. FC Nuremberg, the TSG fan club ''Crescendo Hohenlohe'' (CHO7) and the Hoffenheim fan project handed over a donation worth €1,000 to the ''Starke Familien'' (strong families) project. The Sinsheim-based organisation helps children whose parents suffer from mental and/or physical illness. The fan club as well as the fan project were both present at the Sinsheim Christmas market, represented by a stand selling delicacies from the Hohenlohe region of Germany. TSG Hoffenheim provided both the children and their counsellors with free tickets to the home match against Nuremberg, which meant that the handing over of the donation could take place in front of the fans on the south stand.

All members of the TSG fan club ''Crescendo Hohenlohe'' are delighted to be able to help the ''Starke Familien'' initiative and would like to express their gratitude towards all those who donated. 

The ''Starke Familien'' project specialises in providing support for children whose parents suffer from mental and/or physical illness. The children engage in group activities in a playful learning environment. This project is part of a long-established partnership between Bürgerkreis registered association Sinsheim and the psychological counselling service of the Kraichgau parish district. Despite running for many years, the project still lacks a dependable source of regular funding. In the group programmes, which last for approximately five or six months, the children between six and 14 years of age are given an insight into:

- Freedom from feelings of guilt and an excessive sense of responsibility
- Age appropriate explanation of parental illness 
- Light-hearted and playful interaction with other children who find themselves in a similarly difficult situation 
- Awareness of feelings and emotions and promotion of self-confidence.

These areas of focus ensure that the needs of the children and young people are placed at the centre of the project. All those involved should feel empowered and receive social support as they negotiate the challenging circumstances forced upon them by their parents' illness. The overarching goal of this preventative support is to ensure that the children themselves do not go on to suffer from mental health issues. 

Further information can be accessed here.