Freiburg banned the use of their logo on their joint shirts in the German Cup final against RB Leipzig

RB Leipzig has been repeatedly criticized by rival fans since its inception, and it has not been spared now. In fact, before the German Cup final, Freiburg banned the use of their logo on all fan merchandise.

The reason is obvious, the ban is probably related to the controversial structure of the club, which was founded in 2009 and is backed by millions of Red Bull owner Dietrich Mateschitz.

SC Freiburg, on the other hand, is a traditional German club whose greatest achievement is a third place finish in the premier league, which they celebrated in 1995. Besides that, it also enjoyed three Südbadischer Pokal championships (1974/75, 1977/78 and 2000/01).

In addition, Freiburg also featured in the 2013/14 season in the Europa League group stage, where they faced, for example, Czech side FC Slovan Liberec. However, after gaining 6 points, they finished third and bid farewell to Europe.

“Freiburg has considered itself a community club for years. One fan club has called on the club not to show common purpose with the economically strong RBL construct. A team that is successful on the pitch is unpopular off it in Germany due to the fact that they are seen as a marketing superstructure,” commentator Derek Rae explained the situation on his Twitter account.

Does Freiburg have the right to do that?

Yes, if a club wants to use another club’s third party rights for its own business, that club must agree to it. The logos are legally protected. Club names are not.

In 2016, Dortmund also banned RB Leipzig from using the BVB logo on match shirts during Leipzig’s Bundesliga debut.

What does Leipzig have to say about this?

The club did not want to comment when asked by Bild newspaper.

However, it should be added that virtually all of Germany will be behind Freiburg as they attempt to lift their first major trophy over their heads in Berlin on 21 May.

Source: Twitter, Kicker, Bild