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 Hertha Berlin club that were quickly identified as illegal player payments. Hertha's position in the economic rough and tumble of German football was weakened by the city of Berlin's dangerous political situation as an isolated enclave in the middle 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, Tennis Borussia Berlin had finished at the bottom of their group behind Bayern Munich, 1. FC Saarbrücken, and Alemannia Aachen and so could not be considered for promotion before those clubs. The DFB turned to Spandauer SV, who had finished second in the Regionalliga Berlin, with an offer of promotion that the club refused. Tasmania 1900 Berlin, the third-place finisher and the previous season's champion, was approached next and accepted promotion.

This prompted objections from Karlsruher SC and FC Schalke 04, who were relegated and argued that their performance warranted consideration for Hertha's vacated Bundesliga spot over Berlin-based Regionalliga sides. 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.

Tasmania's single season in the Bundesliga remains notable for setting records for lowest performance metrics in league history.

In response to the economic issues, the DFB raised the limits on transfer fees and player salaries, though not to the level of other professional European leagues. These reforms preceded a second similar scandal approximately six years later.

References

Ulrich Hesse-Lichtenberger (2002). Tor! The Story of German Football. WSC Books ISBN 0-9540134-5-X
Das deutsche Fußball-Archiv historical German domestic league tables (in German)

v t e Bundesliga
2024–25 clubs	FC Augsburg Bayer Leverkusen Bayern Munich VfL Bochum Borussia Mönchengladbach Borussia Dortmund Eintracht Frankfurt SC Freiburg 1. FC Heidenheim TSG Hoffenheim Holstein Kiel RB Leipzig Mainz 05 FC St. Pauli 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 Darmstadt 98 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 1. FC Köln VfB Leipzig Meidericher SV/MSV Duisburg Preußen Münster 1. FC Nürnberg Rot-Weiss Essen Rot-Weiß Oberhausen SC Paderborn 1. FC Saarbrücken Schalke 04 Stuttgarter Kickers Tasmania Berlin Tennis Borussia Berlin SSV Ulm SpVgg Unterhaching Waldhof Mannheim Wattenscheid 09 Wuppertaler SV
History	Meisterschale Reichsliga Introduction in 1963 1965 scandal 1971 scandal 2005 scandal Promotion
Competition	Clubs winners Players foreign Managers
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Category Managers Players