Head of sport on regional league reform: court action possible

In the struggle for a reform of the regional soccer leagues with promotion rights for all champions, the east of the country is increasing the verbal pressure. Daniel Meyer, Head of Sport at Halle FC, is considering taking the matter to court.

"At the moment, the West and South-West divisions in particular, with their fixed promotion places, have no incentive to agree to a change. This could change by initiating a judicial review of the current rules," Meyer told the Mitteldeutsche Zeitung newspaper (Saturday).

HFC sporting director: Court would consider rule unfair

The Hallescher FC representative is one of the faces of the initiative launched by the teams in the Regionalliga Nordost. "I am convinced that a court would come to the conclusion that the promotion rule is unfair and therefore all champions would have to go back into the relegation play-off. Such a result would certainly not be in the interests of the other associations, which would lead to negotiations," said Meyer. "Nevertheless, I hope for solidarity and assume that such a judicial scenario can be avoided."

At present, only the champions of the South-West and West regional leagues have direct promotion rights, with the other title holders having to go through a relegation play-off. While most clubs do not agree with this, the regional associations and the German Football Association (DFB) show little interest in bringing about a change.