Bundeskartellamt confirms proceedings on ticket sales for European Football Championship

In its sale of tickets for the games of the German national team in the European Football Championship in 2016 the German Football Association (DFB) has tied the purchase of tickets to a paid membership of the national team's fan club. In response to enquiries the Bundeskartellamt confirms that it has initiated administrative proceedings to examine this practice.

Andreas Mundt, President of the Bundeskartellamt: "It is already difficult for football fans to purchase tickets for the European Football Championship 2016 because not every applicant will get a ticket. If the possibility of purchasing a ticket is also tied to paid fan club membership, this not only increases the total ticket price but the applicant will also incur a fan club membership fee even if his ticket application fails. This kind of tying practice could constitute an exploitative abuse."

The UEFA European Football Championship will take place in summer 2016 in France and will be organised by Euro 2016 SAS, a joint venture of UEFA and the French football association Fédération Française de Football (FFF). For the national ticket quota following the group draw the DFB has made the purchase of tickets conditional on the proof of membership of the national team's fan club. 19 of the 24 participating countries, on the other hand, have made the purchase of tickets for games of their respective national team only conditional on citizenship or residency criteria.