The German competition watchdog said on Tuesday it had launched an investigation into the national football association's (DFB) ticket policy for Euro 2016 this summer.
The Federal Cartel Office said in a statement that it was looking into the DFB's policy of linking the purchase of tickets for matches by the German national team to obligatory membership of that team's fan club.
"Buying a ticket for the European championships is difficult enough as it is for football fans, because not everyone who applies will necessarily get a ticket," said cartel office chief Andreas Mundt.
"If, on top of this, the ticket purchase is coupled to fan club membership, that will only increase the price of the tickets," he said.
Ticket applicants had to pay a membership fee even if their order was not successful. That sort of clause could be deemed to be exploitation, Mundt said.
The Euro 2016 championships are being held in France from June 10 to July 10, organised jointly by European governing body UEFA and the French football federation FFF.
Out of the 24 competing countries, 19 have decided to allocate tickets for the matches of their national teams only to purchasers who can prove residency in the respective country, the office said.
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