The German Football League (DFL) is threatened by a scandal. On Wednesday, it suspended the bidding for television rights. Previously there was an inflammatory letter from Transmission-the supplier Dazn with the two heads of the DFL, Marc Lenz and Steffen Merkel, as well as with the 18 clubs Bundesliga received. He reported on this “ Image “.
In it, Dazn makes serious accusations against the DFL. This is the attractive rights package B, which contains the individual Bundesliga matches on Friday afternoon and Saturday at 3:30 p.m. This was offered on Monday, but the auction was then discontinued. This has never happened before.
The tender stipulates that a bidder will be awarded the contract immediately if its bid meets the DFL's minimum requirement and is at least 20 percent higher than the second-best bid. A procedure agreed with the Federal Cartel Office.
A mega scandal is brewing around Dazn: the DFL stops bidding for Bundesliga rights
“Bild” quotes the following from the letter: We would like to express our deep disappointment and great dismay that (…) our offer was rejected, despite the fact that Dazn presented the most economically attractive and convincing offer for rights package B. Dazn was led to believe that his offer was significantly higher than any other offer.
“We have no other explanation for this uneconomic behavior than that the DFL management had already anticipated the result in order to improperly award rights package B to its preferred bidder and deprive the member clubs of their share of the additional revenue from this offer. of Dazn without carrying out another round of bidding.”
The reason for the conflict is said to be the lack of a bank guarantee. “In the tender documents we submitted on April 11, 2024, we indicated that given the costs etc., we would not do this in the form of a bank guarantee, but would provide a firm letter of guarantee (as we had done in the tender former). ) “, writes Dazn. “Despite this previously accepted position, on Monday, April 15, 2024, in the middle of the bidding process, you demanded a very specific bank guarantee from Dazn within 24 hours, an impossible task.”
Instead, the streaming provider submitted a guarantee from Access Industries, a private investment company. But according to the report, the DFL has already awarded the package to another bidder. Dazn therefore demanded that the tender must be “immediately paused” to allow an investigation by the Federal Cartel Office to ensure that all bidders in the tender process are treated fairly and that there are no political or of another type so that the tender has the best results”. result that German football gives.”
The DFL reacts by suspending the tenders and rejects criticism
Dazn also called the Federal Cartel Office and threatened a court order. The DFL reacted on Wednesday night and stopped the bidding. The DFL justified itself in a statement. The allegations and accusations made are “inaccurate, unfounded and we reject them very clearly.” Dazn's letter contains a large number of incorrect representations and abbreviations of events, he adds.
The DFL will also make comments to the Federal Cartel Office. “Of course, DFL GmbH is carrying out the procedure in a transparent and non-discriminatory manner in accordance with the tender procedures submitted to the Federal Cartel Office and the provisions of the tender documents. The DFL has decided to temporarily suspend the procedure” . The DFL considers it necessary and appropriate.