German Handball League - Hamburg's handball team's license approval raises questions for BHC.
The Bergische HC expresses astonishment at the licensing decision of the Handball Bundesliga (HBL) for HSV Hamburg. "The arbitration court's decision is hard to comprehend by the BHC," the team mentioned on Friday. On top of that, the club revealed its plans for arbitration against the HBL.
An arbitration court had sanctioned HSV Hamburg with a playing license for the 2024/25 season on Thursday. However, the Hamburg team is obligated to provide a certain amount of money as security deposit before the 5th of June. Earlier, the license failed to be issued due to the late submission of proof for closing a financial gap. The arbitration court's verdict on Thursday concluded that this original condition was not effectively applied and thus, the conditional playing license should be revoked.
The BHC is now disputing that there was a severe cash-flow deficit in the HSV team at the moment of the licensing decision. "The HSV Hamburg has been participating in the league play of the HBL while breaching the financial regulations applicable to all clubs. The license should have been withheld for this season, or it should have been taken away long ago," stated the club.
The Thursday ruling runs counter to "the objectives of the licensing which are to instill accountable and trustworthy management and financial structures." By pursuing legal action, the BHC aims to attain "a regulatory playing license." "We will remain on this course to secure our own rights."
The penultimate ranked Bergische HC is threatened with relegation to the 2. Bundesliga. But there's still a chance for them to overtake HC Erlangen on the final matchday on Sunday. If HSVH fails to secure a license, the 17th place holder would continue in the first league.
