In the dispute over the marketing of image rights, the German Ski Association is taking the world federation FIS to court. The hearing has already taken place in Munich.
Stefan Schwarzbach, member of the board of the German Ski Association (DSV), confirmed this to the dpa agency. The DSV is of the opinion that the FIS decision violates German and European competition law. "That's why, like our colleagues in Austria, we have applied for a temporary injunction against this decision," said Schwarzbach in an interview with BR24.
The hearing before the Munich District Court has already taken place, Schwarzbach confirmed to dpa. A decision is to be announced in mid-October. The proceedings in Austria have been postponed until the end of November. Swiss-Ski is also critical of the FIS plan, but has not (yet) taken any legal action.
Agreement or further confrontation?
The point of contention is the marketing; until now, the national ski associations have marketed their races themselves. However, the controversial FIS President Johan Eliasch wants the rights to be marketed centrally from the 2025/26 season in order to open up new markets, for example in the USA, China and Saudi Arabia. The dispute has been going on for over two years now.
The necessary decisions have already been made by the world governing body, but the national associations felt ignored and demanded a joint decision. "The world federation has de facto tried to disenfranchise the national federations, including the German Ski Association, with this change, and we will not accept that," added Schwarzbach.
