The litigation association ruled that the three men were discriminated against on grounds of race. Five of their friends, who were also turned away after they complained about the bouncer, received €350 in compensation (the first conviction in Austria for indirect discrimination).
The three men failed to get into a club on Vienna's Gürtel ring road because the bouncer said they looked like “people who cause problems.” He let three of their male friends in, saying they looked Austrian. Two young women were already waiting inside the club for them. After they all complained to the bouncer, they were all told to leave.
The case took three years to come to the conclusion that the three men were rejected because of their ‘foreign’ appearance. Their friends were awarded damages on the grounds of discrimination by association.
Their lawyer, Andrea Ludwig, said she was pleased with the decision in principle but criticised the fact that the sums awarded were “very low”. She said that a discriminatory door policy is prohibited in Austria by the Equal Treatment Act but remains widespread practice.