The board of Sport-Club Freiburg e.V. have gone through an intensive and extremely differentiated process of deliberation around the further course of action following the substitution error from FC Bayern München in last Saturday’s Bundesliga fixture. Every aspect of the situation which could be significant for the club, especially in a financial, sporting and legal sense, was brought to light and intensively discussed.

To begin with, we find ourselves in a dilemma through no fault of our own. SC Freiburg played no part in and had no influence over the events surrounding the substitution process. Despite this, the DFB’s legal and procedural regulations have forced us into taking an active role in having the events legally reviewed. We have no interest whatsoever in taking up this active role which has been given to us against our will, and feel distinctively uncomfortable in it.

As a result, we believe these procedural regulations are unfit for purpose. They place burden on completely uninvolved parties – in this case, our club – and gives them the responsibility of dealing with a clear and obvious violation of the rules.

Therefore, the board of Sport-Club Freiburg e.V. has decided, following intense discussions at different levels and a legal examination, to lodge an appeal against the validity of the match. The following points were particularly important in coming to this decision:

• The ability to create a possibility for a tribunal to evaluate and answer the questions which have arisen here surrounding the substitution error from FC Bayern München, in terms of sporting law.
• The ability to protect the rights of other clubs who suffer comparable situations in the future.
• Consistent action from SC Freiburg when rules are broken, irrespective of the specific competitive context.
• Taking responsibility for the entire club in both economic and sporting terms, and taking into account the interests of shareholders and other groups.
• Prospects of legal success, relating to the duty of care from the executive board to the club and subsequent issues of liability.

A detailed written statement of grounds for appeal will be sent to the tribunal in due course.