Ombudsperson

Since 2011, German professional football has had an ombudsperson to protect the integrity of sporting competition.

As part of the “Gemeinsam gegen Spielmanipulation” project (“Together against match-fixing”), the lawyer Dr. Carsten Thiel von Herff was appointed by the DFL and DFB as a joint ombudsperson. As a central element of the prevention program, he is available to whistleblowers (e.g. players, coaches, club staff and referees) as an independent point of contact for tip-offs concerning planned or agreed match-fixing.

He also advises on how to deal with potential suspicions and risk situations. Tip-offs and information can be submitted anonymously (e.g. using the “DFL Integrity App”) and confidentially. The ombudsperson examines the tip-offs received and, in the case of suspicious circumstances, passes them on to the legal departments of the DFL and DFB and coordinates the next steps with the responsible officers.