The plaintiff has been a member of a large Munich football club since 1.7.94 and has also held a season ticket for home matches of the club since then. On 12.5.14, the club cancelled the season ticket subscription. As a loyal supporter, the plaintiff attended almost all home matches in the Bundesliga as well as in the DFB Pokal and the Champions League. In the 2013/2014 season, the plaintiff built a house for himself and his family and was unable to attend 10 Bundesliga matches for this reason. However, he gave other fans the opportunity to purchase his ticket via the ticket exchange at these matches and was refunded the annual ticket price of 8.24 euros paid pro rata in each case. Without any warning, the club cancelled the annual ticket subscription.
The plaintiff sees the dismissal as an inadmissible reprimand for the fact that he was justifiably and with good reason unable to participate in ten matches.
He brings an action against the club before the Munich Local Court for the issue of an annual ticket for the home matches in the 2014/2015 Bundesliga season.
The competent judge now ruled in favour of the association and dismissed the complaint.
According to § 2 of the club's terms and conditions of sale for the annual season ticket, the club had an ordinary right of termination. There were no objections to this contractual provision, as the ordinary right of termination is permissible for every continuing obligation that runs for an indefinite period of time. The termination did not violate a legal prohibition. The plaintiff did not allege discrimination or any other violation of a legal prohibition. The right of termination did not constitute harassment or an impermissible sanction for the plaintiff's lawful conduct in passing on the season ticket, but was an expression of the club's contractual freedom. This right of the club to determine itself with whom it enters into contractual relations was also not restricted. The club did not have a dominant position in the market for professional football in Bavaria, so that there was no obligation to contract. In Munich, there is another professional football club in the second Bundesliga and there is another southern Bavarian club in the first Bundesliga. In addition, it was open to the plaintiff to attend Bundesliga matches or Champions League matches of the club via free sale. There is no right to a particular service in civil law. It is part of the club's policy and freedom of association which fans are to be granted special conditions, as long as no regulations for the protection against discrimination are violated.
Judgment of the Munich Local Court of 18.12.14, file number 122 C 16918/14
The judgement is final.
Source: Press release of the Munich Local Court
Goldberg Attorneys at Law 2015
Attorney at Law Michael Ullrich, LL.M. (Information Law)
Specialist lawyer for information technology law
E-mail: info@goldberg.de
