Leverkusen's Carro joins DFL committee, Watzke remains DFL boss

Bayer Leverkusen's managing director, Fernando Carro, has been elected to the DFL supervisory board. This marks the first time that a representative of one of the clubs exempt from the 50+1 rule has been elected to the DFL's governing bodies. The future of the rule, along with the elections, was a topic of discussion at the DFL general assembly. Hans-Joachim Watzke was confirmed as spokesperson for the executive committee.

Carro was unanimously elected by representatives of the 36 Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2 clubs at the DFL General Assembly in Berlin. He ran unopposed . The candidacy of Leverkusen's managing director attracted particular attention in light of the future of the 50+1 rule.

In June, the Federal Cartel Office recommended to the DFL that, in order to ensure legal certainty for the 50+1 rule, it should, among other things, abolish the exceptions to the rule for VfL Wolfsburg and Carro's club, Bayer 04 Leverkusen. If the DFL fails to do so, the rule will be in jeopardy.

After his election, Carro commented on the rule. "I can only say that I see no need to change anything. We have a statute that shouldn't or needs to be changed." The Federal Cartel Office's assessment is only preliminary. "We've been able to live with the exceptions so far without any problems," Carro added. He doesn't see this as a threat to the legal certainty of the rule.

At least one thing seems clear: "The Federal Cartel Office has set a lower limit: In future, the majority of voting rights for each club must be held by a parent association determined by its members," said Alexander Scheuch, sports law expert from the University of Bonn, in an interview with Sportschau.

Leverkusen and Wolfsburg would therefore have to transfer more than 50 percent of the voting rights to their respective parent clubs. Cartel Office President Andreas Mundt told Sportschau: "It's up to the clubs and the DFL to come up with something that complies with competition law." Following the Federal Cartel Office's statement on the 50+1 proposal, Leverkusen and Wolfsburg expressly reserved the right to take legal action . Carro said there was no need to discuss a lawsuit "because nothing has been decided yet."

The DFL believes it can reach a compromise to preserve the rule, and this should happen with Carro, not against him. DFL executive committee spokesman Hans-Joachim Watzke, who was re-elected at the general assembly, spoke out clearly in favor of 50+1 in a speech. "We should do everything we can to ensure that 50+1 is preserved," he said. "For me, this is the fundamental element of our national sport. We should all fight for it."

Watzke left open how exactly the 50+1 agreement will be fought for. "We have to develop a consensus so that there are no losers in the end," he said. "I believe the 36 clubs know that we have to find a common solution. They don't even want to imagine anything else."

Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) had said at a DFL event the previous evening: "I remain a supporter of this rule. Firmly anchoring it together with the clubs is and remains important." Organized fan groups in German football had already made it clear on banners during the first round of the DFB Cup that the rule is non-negotiable for them.

Two additional supervisory board seats of DFL GmbH, on whose composition all 36 DFL clubs voted, were awarded to Eric Huwer (HSV) and Ralf Huschen (Hertha BSC).

Anne Baumann (SV Darmstadt 98) was appointed to the separate second-division position on the supervisory board. She is the first woman on the supervisory board and the first to serve on the DFL executive board since Donata Hopfen's departure from the DFL management. Stephan Schippers (Borussia Mönchengladbach), Christian Keller (1. FC Köln), and Rüdiger Fritsch (SV Darmstadt 98) also left the supervisory board.

*Chairman *Deputy Chairman

The Executive Board of the DFL e.V. was virtually confirmed in its current composition. Watzke was re-elected as Spokesperson without opposition and thus remains Chairman of the Supervisory Board of DFL GmbH and Vice President of the DFB. At UEFA, he was confirmed on the UEFA Executive Committee in April and was also promoted to Vice President of the European Football Association.

The only two changes to the DFL Executive Board: Bayern Munich's outgoing CFO Michael Diederich will remain at FC Bayern, but will return to CEO Jan-Christian Dreesen. Oke Göttlich (FC St. Pauli) and Steffen Schneekloth (Holstein Kiel) will also swap roles as second deputy spokesperson and ordinary member. There were no opposing candidates for any of the positions.

*Speaker ** 1st Deputy Speaker

*** 2nd Deputy Speaker

• football
• Bundesliga
• 2. Bundesliga
• DFL
• 50+1