Bayern Munich have threatened to pull out of the Bundesliga if they are docked points for a controversial marketing deal.
Club chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge said the club would end their association with all bodies ruling the German game if they were handed a sanction they did not agree with.
‘If there is a verdict that we cannot accept, the consequence would be that we would pull out of all bodies (ruling German soccer),’ Rummenigge told ‘s Sport-Bild weekly magazine.
Bayern are being investigated by the German Football League (DFL) after admitting having received a top-up of €21.5million through a secret marketing deal with the KirchMedia group.
The club claim they did nothing illegal but the DFL has to rule whether the payment broke the principle of central marketing that states that all the professional clubsbenefit from a share of the money generated by television rights.
‘We will not accept a points deduction,’ Rummenigge said. ‘That’s a question of principle.’
Franz Beckenbauer, Bayern’s president, said last month that Bayern would play in the Italian league if they are severely sanctioned for their part in the deal. .
‘Then the Bundesliga will have to see how they go without us,’ Beckenbauer said. ‘We’ll join the league in Italy and play against Milan and Rome.’
