Bundesliga scandal (1965)

The Bundesliga scandal of 1965 grew out of the failure of the German Football Association (Deutsche Fußball-Bund, DFB) to fully embrace paid professionalism, an aversion rooted in the broader history of sport in the country. Many clubs circumvented the strict financial limits then in place in German football, and it became common practice for clubs to make payments to players or their agents in excess of the limits set by the DFB in an attempt to gain a competitive edge. In addition, some clubs paid players from competing sides to underperform in key matches.

The scandal came to light in February 1965, when the DFB's auditor found discrepancies in the accounts of the

Soviet-occupied East Germany during the Cold War

. Many players did not wish to play in Berlin, and the club was forced into paying premiums beyond even what other teams were already illegally paying. Despite evidence of widespread problems, only Hertha was sanctioned, and the club was relegated from the top-flight Bundesliga to the second division Regionalliga Berlin.

For political reasons, the DFB wished to maintain Berlin's representation within the Bundesliga. In the competition that had been held for promotion to the Bundesliga,

Tasmania 1900 Berlin

, the third-place finisher and the previous season's champion, was approached next and accepted promotion.

This led to objections from Karlsruher SC and FC Schalke 04, who had been relegated but felt that they still had a better claim to the spot opened by the relegation of Hertha than any of the Berlin-based sides from the Regionalliga. To mollify these clubs, the Bundesliga was expanded from 16 to 18 clubs the following season and the two sides maintained their places in first division competition.

As for the overmatched Tasmania side, their single season in the top flight was the worst-ever season in Bundesliga history, setting records for futility that still stand.

In response to the underlying economic issues the DFB made only a token response, raising the previous limits on transfer fees and player salaries, but not by enough to make the Bundesliga a truly professional league in the broader European context. This laid the groundwork for a second

similar scandal

some six years later.

References

ISBN 0-9540134-5-X

Das deutsche Fußball-Archiv historical German domestic league tables (in German)

v t e Bundesliga
2023–24 clubs	FC Augsburg Bayer Leverkusen Bayern Munich VfL Bochum Borussia Mönchengladbach Borussia Dortmund Darmstadt 98 Eintracht Frankfurt SC Freiburg 1. FC Heidenheim TSG Hoffenheim 1. FC Köln RB Leipzig Mainz 05 VfB Stuttgart Union Berlin Werder Bremen VfL Wolfsburg
Former clubs	1860 Munich Alemannia Aachen Arminia Bielefeld Bayer 05 Uerdingen/KFC Uerdingen 05 Blau-Weiß 90 Berlin Borussia Neunkirchen Dynamo Dresden Fortuna Düsseldorf Eintracht Braunschweig Energie Cottbus Fortuna Köln Greuther Fürth Hamburger SV Hannover 96 Hansa Rostock Hertha BSC FC 08 Homburg FC Ingolstadt 1. FC Kaiserslautern Karlsruher SC Kickers Offenbach VfB Leipzig Meidericher SV/MSV Duisburg Preußen Münster 1. FC Nürnberg Rot-Weiss Essen Rot-Weiß Oberhausen SC Paderborn 1. FC Saarbrücken Schalke 04 FC St. Pauli Stuttgarter Kickers Tasmania Berlin Tennis Borussia Berlin SSV Ulm SpVgg Unterhaching Waldhof Mannheim Wattenscheid 09 Wuppertaler SV
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