Championship stars controversy

In 2004, the German Football Association (Deutscher Fussball Bund or German Football Association) introduced the Verdiente Meistervereine – a system to honor the most successful teams in Bundesliga history awarding one star for three titles, two stars for five, and three stars for ten – allowing qualifying teams to display on their jerseys the stars they have earned. Dynamo Berlin petitioned the league to have their East German titles recognized, but received no reply. They eventually took matters into their own hands and emblazoned their jerseys with three stars. This caused considerable debate given the tainted nature of their championships, and more generally, that the DFB did not recognize East German championships, only those championships won since the 1963 formation of the Bundesliga. The issue also affected other former East German teams including Dynamo Dresden (8 titles), Vorwärts Berlin (6), SC Wismut Karl Marx Stadt, FC Carl Zeiss Jena, and 1. FC Magdeburg (3 titles each).

The DFB has since updated this practise by broadening recognition to include all national level men's competitions since 1903 (when the first recognized national championship was staged), including those of the former East Germany, as well as all women's competitions since 1974. In addition, new standards for how championship stars are to be displayed on a team's uniform have been established. The DFB governs the use of championship stars and a club must have that governing bodies approval before displaying any such badge.