From morgana.mat.uc.pt!thomas Sat Nov  7 11:12:07 1998
Path: morgana.mat.uc.pt!thomas
From: thomas@misterbyte.italy (Thomas Gmuer)
Newsgroups: rec.autos.sport.f1
Subject: Ecclestone loses ground: court indicates illegal cartel
Date: Fri, 6 Nov 1998 23:10:54 +0200
Organization: Friends of Carlotta
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Ecclestone loses ground: court indicates illegal cartel

by Roger Repplinger, dpa (Deutsche Presse Agentur)

Frankfurt/Main (dpa) - Bernie Ecclestone faces a defeat in the legal
disputes before German and European Courts. While marketing the TV
rights to some motor sports events, such as the international "Truck
Racing Cup", the Formula 1 boss and mastermind of European motor sport
is said to have set up an illegal cartel with the Fédération
International de l'Automobile (FIA). This assessment was given by
presiding Judge Brigitte Tilmann at the first hearing before the
eleventh chamber of civil matters and first chamber for competition of
the Frankfurt Court of Appeal on Tuesday.

The plaintiff, Heidelberg-based TV producer Wolfgang Eisele seems to
have the better chances in the lawsuit against Ecclestone. Judge Tilmann
sees a "violation of European law" in the way the TV rights to the Truck
Racing Cup were awarded. The behaviour of the FIA "and in particular
that of Mr Ecclestone is aimed at circumventing the cartel prohibition"
said the jurist. Ecclestone's business conduct was "in violation of
competition laws".

In Frankfurt, the question of whether Ecclestone will manage to achieve
his aim of an exemption from cartel laws for Formula 1 and other FIA
motor sport series, was an issue as well. Tilmann: "this seems more than
uncertain to us." After all the central marketing by the European
Football Union of all European Soccer Cup games has already been
prohibited.

Eisele's lawyer, Wolfgang Deselaers, considers it "completely out of
question" that the Commission could grant such an exemption. After all,
the Commission had already "condemned" the cartel offences of FIA as
"gravest infringements of competition law". Deselaers reported that TV
broadcasters had, when buying TV rights for Formula 1, been granted
"discounts of 30 per cent", provided that they guarantee that they would
not cover some other motor sport events than Formula 1. Ecclestone,
according to Deselaers, is aiming at driving other motor sport series
out of television. The vice president of the FIA and managing director
of ISC (International Sportsworld Communicators Limited) would already
control over "80 per cent of all the motor sport events in Europe".

FIA's lawyer Wolfgang Kirchhoff, on the other hand, pointed out the
"extensive negotiations between the Commission and the FIA, in which
both sides are approaching each other". He suggested a settlement for
the lawsuit of Eisele against the FIA, until the decision of the
European Commission about the complaint lodged by Eisele against the FIA
has been made. This, however, may take years. Because of this, Eisele,
who has invested large amounts in the lawsuit, and his lawyers declined
the offer. The Frankfurt verdict is expected to be pronounced on
December 1.

-ends-


Previous press releases by both parties can be found at
http://www.mat.uc.pt/~rps/f1/fia_TV.html or by e-mail on request.


Thomas
--
* Remove "aly" from domain to answer *