The DFB Sports Court ( German: DFB-Sportgericht) is a regulatory body in the

German Football Association The German Football Association (german: Deutscher Fußball-Bund ; DFB ) is the governing body of football in Germany. A founding member of both FIFA and UEFA, the DFB has jurisdiction for the German football league system and is in charge of t ...

(german: Deutscher Fussball-Bund, DFB) and may adopt different sanctions on clubs and players.

History

Together with the Bundesliga, the DFB Sports Court was founded in 1963. It hears cases of misconduct by individual players, clubs or spectators. The court is a separate authority, responsible for the national and regional leagues. The

judge A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. A judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, assesses the credibility an ...

s and staff are volunteers.

Structure

The structure resembles that of a normal court. The court is composed of a chief judge, a deputy and 28 assessors. The chief judge and the deputy are elected by the DFB-Bundestag. Chief judge is Hans Eberhard Lorenz.

Proceedings

The DFB Sports Court convenes when serious rule violations occur. This starts directly after a

red card A red card is a type of penalty card that is shown in many sports after a rules infraction. Red card may also refer to: Art, entertainment, and media * ''Red Card'' (album), 1976 release by Streetwalkers * Red card, suit (cards) of hearts or dia ...

is given. The court determines the sentence depending on the hardness of the fouls or unsportsmanlike conduct. If the clubs in question agree, the sports court creates a written statement. Only 20% of procedures end with a hearing.

Appeal In law, an appeal is the process in which cases are reviewed by a higher authority, where parties request a formal change to an official decision. Appeals function both as a process for error correction as well as a process of clarifying and ...

s against decisions from the DFB Sports Court can be presented to the DFB Federal Court.

Important decisions

* 2011–12 Bundesliga's relegation play-offs

References

External links