The YouTuber Marvin Wildhage is attempting what all football fans want: to stand on the pitch with their idols at least once in their life. To do this, the journalist has to push the limits of what is permissible and beyond. And this is not the first time. Could he now face legal consequences? A legal expert gives his opinion.
This is YouTuber Marvin Wildhage: Wildhage is known for trying out things that others do not have the courage or craziness to do. He has taken on various influencers from the internet several times: 27-year-old tricks influencer with an esoteric shop
To achieve his goals, he also accepts the occasional conflict with German law. As early as the beginning of 2022, he was sentenced to a hefty fine for forgery.
However, this does not deter him from continuing to work on new projects where he has to operate in legal gray areas. This is also the case with his latest prank, where he plays the entire DFB for fools.
How the YouTuber mocks the entire DFB
Wildhage has devised an elaborate plan for his latest endeavor. He wanted to disguise himself as a player and blend in with the stars during the public training session of the DFB team in Jena. His plan consists of three steps:
- Step: Wildhage disguises a black transporter as a VW bus as an official DFB vehicle. For this, he sticks a VW logo on his black bus. Next to it, he places the DFB logo of the same size.
- Step: To get past security and the ushers at the stadium, he needs to identify himself as a DFB employee. For this, he creates a fake ID badge using Photoshop based on an image template and poses as a member of the social media team.
- Step: To not stand out among the players, Wildhage orders the authentic warm-up outfit of the DFB and additionally gets the VW logo printed on it. He already wears the training clothes under his regular outfit.
Is he committing crimes with the prank? Expert weighs in
Who is the expert? Christian Solmecke is a lawyer and partner at the law firm WBS Legal in Cologne. He has been active online for 13 years and runs the YouTube channel of WBS Legal. On this channel, he discusses various legal cases weekly.
The lawyer became well known about 6 years ago when he spoke out on the restrictions faced by various professions such as teachers, police officers, etc. Solmecke now utilizes his expertise and fame to legally assess topics from the public discourse. This applies to Wildhage’s latest action as well:
What crimes does the YouTuber risk? The following crimes could be attributed to the YouTuber according to experts:
- Violation of trademark law regarding the use of the VW logo
- Trespassing by entering the restricted areas of the stadium
- Forgery by duplicating the DFB employee ID
Especially piquant: Wildhage had already been convicted of forgery leading to a fine of over €3,000. He had created a fake ID in 2020 with a false doctorate title. Also, Solmecke provided legal analysis for this case on YouTube.
This is how Solmecke assesses the potential crimes of the YouTuber:
At the beginning of his response, Solmecke posits that many of the actions before and during the prank can be categorized as at least legal gray areas. He then assesses the fulfillment of the individual possible crimes:
Regarding 1: There is no direct violation of trademark law, as Wildhage has not earned money from the VW logo.
Regarding 2: It is also unlikely that the DFB will file charges against the YouTuber for trespassing since Wildhage was not expelled from the stadium after the incident, but merely given a penalty by being sent to the stands.
Regarding 3: The expert sees the copied employee ID of the YouTuber as the most controversial, which could lead to the heaviest punishment under the charge of forgery. Up to 5 years of imprisonment are considered for serious offenses.
What could benefit the YouTuber: Copies of documents fall into a legal gray area, as they are not considered legally valid documents. Furthermore, Solmecke cannot imagine that charges will be filed, as the action has not led to any negative consequences for those involved.
It seems that this time the YouTuber will face no consequences. Even the reactions of a DFB star a day after the prank suggest that the action was taken with humor.
After a short stint on the bench, he was ultimately escorted to the stands by a DFB employee. Wildhage himself assessed his project as a complete success. For a time, he was able to be very close to the football stars. In the new FIFA 25, it should also become much simpler and safer for the YouTuber to play with the German national team, assuming it is released this year: Fans have been waiting for FIFA 25 for years: The release is supposedly still coming in 2024
