FC Union Berlin v Viagogo (91 O 56/24)

1. CASE SUMMARY

A. Summary of facts

1. FC Union Berlin, a professional football club in the Bundesliga, sued Viagogo, the operator of a secondary ticket marketplace. The platform enabled the sale and advertising of tickets for the club's home matches. However, under Section 1.9.2 of the club's General Terms and Conditions for Ticket Sales, the unauthorised resale of tickets is prohibited and personalised tickets are invalidated upon such transfer. The platform failed to prominently inform consumers that these tickets might not grant them entry to the stadium.

B. Legal analysis

The court ruled that a football club does not violate the dominance rules or the ban on abuse of economic dependence under the German Act against Restraints of Competition (‘ARC’) if the club prohibits the onward sale of personalized tickets. The ban of the onward sale is justified under these provisions as it prevents that the purchaser is denied access at the stadium. Moreover, failing to provide clear information about personalisation and the resulting risk of being denied entry constitutes withholding material information under Section 5 and 5a Unfair Competition Act (‘UCA’) and constitutes a misinformation of the consumer.

2. QUOTES

"The personalisation of an event ticket does not violate the rules on dominance and economic dependence under Section 19, 20 and 21 ARC as it is justified to prevent that the purchaser is denied entry to the stadium. The use of a personalised ticket by a person other than the authorised individual named on the ticket exposes the user – that is, the purchaser via the defendant’s website – to the risk of being refused entry to the home match in question. This risk may materialise in rather rare cases, regarding which the parties have not provided any further details. However, should it materialise, it constitutes a considerable disadvantage and loss for the purchaser, who has paid what is now often a three-figure sum in euros for the ticket and incurred further expenses in order to attend the event." (free translation)

3. RELEVANT LEGISLATION

• Sections 19, 20 and 21 ARC

4. PRACTICAL SIGNIFICANCE

The judgment makes it clear that a ban of the onward sale of personalised tickets by football clubs is not a violation of the rules on dominance or economic dependence.