Another day in court: Yesterday the lawyers of 17 Clubs of the HBL, the German Handball Federation (DHB) and the International Handball Federation (IHF) met at the court Landgericht Dortmund. Judge Harbort will anounce a decision end of April 2014.

The history: On 2. April 2013 the 17 German Clubs

THW Kiel

SG Flensburg-Handewitt

HSV Hamburg

TSV Hannover-Burgdorf

Rhein-Neckar-Lions

Frisch-Auf! Göppingen

TBV Lemgo

MT Melsungen

TUS Nettelstedt-Lübbecke

HBW Balingen-Weilstetten

VFL Gummersbach

GWD Minden

TV Grosswallstadt

TuSEM Essen

TV Emsdetten

Bergischer HC

ASV Hamm

lodged a complaint against International Handball Federation (IHF) and Deutscher Handball Bund (DHB).

IHF and DHB shall be adjudged to refrain from obligating the Clubs to second their employed foreign handball players upon demand of their respective national federations for measures of said national federations.

The complaint is the result of a non-communication between the club representations GROUP CLUB HANDBALL EEIG (GCH) and Forum Club Handball eV (FCH) which started in 2006 when GCH proposed its support to IHF in matters of professional handball without any response.

In 2010 EHF and GCH/FCH signed a ‘Memorandum of Understanding’ (MoU), regulating the implementation of Club representatives into the bodies of EHF and EHF Marketing GmbH, compensation for release of players to the National teams, insurance and calendar questions. The current MoU expires end of this season and is expected to be renewed shortly.

According agreements do exist in Football between European Club Association (ECA) on the one hand and UEFA/FIFA on the other hand.

During the course of 2010+2011 GCH/FCH led negotiations with IHF. IHF press releases spoke about historical meetings with club representatives.

In January 2011 for the first time in history IHF paid compensation for release of players to the World Championship and signed an insurance for player salaries for injured players in favor of the clubs.

In May 2011 the IHF Council proposed to the IHF Marrakesh Congress to integrate the clubs as stakeholders into the IHF bylaws. This implementation was not agreed with the clubs. The clubs were supposed to fulfill a big number of obligations without getting any rights. This proposal fortunately and reasonably was refused by a number of European Federations. It was not adopted.

Anyhow IHF continued negotiations with FCH. In December 2011 FCH received the information, that ‘the President welcomes the proposal of a ‘Memorandum of Understanding’’.

In March 2012 IHF changed its point of view and refused a ‘Memorandum of Understanding’, using the Marrakesh Congress decision as argumentation. FCH was informed that ‘We are unable to discuss a MoU at present’.

In May 2012 the FCH General Assembly decided to take all necessary measures to achieve a written agreement with IHF.

Further letters of FCH to IHF and an invitation to a meeting remained without answer.