Association determined
Referee (12) probably threatened with death
October 31, 2025 – 6:44 p.mReading time: 2 minutes
“You’ll be dead after school”: A young referee is said to have been threatened with these words on a sports field in Bavaria.
The Bavarian Football Association is investigating suspected death threats against a twelve-year-old referee. According to the Erding referee group, there was hostility towards the young referee at a D-youth game in Altenerding a few days ago. In the end, a player from SG FC Fraunberg is said to have threatened the referee: “I’m going to the same school as you. On Monday you don’t have to hide at all – after school you’ll be dead.”
Several witnesses heard this clearly, reported the Erding referee group in a social media post. Previously there were said to have been other harsh words against the young referee, including allegedly from the visiting coach. According to the description, the young referee’s mother and a person in charge of the host SpVgg Altenerding prevented further escalation. When the twelve-year-old left the field crying after the final whistle, the threat was made.
The Bavarian Football Association (BFV) confirmed that an investigation would be carried out as part of the descriptions. “Those involved have been asked to comment by the sports court. One player has been temporarily suspended with immediate effect,” said BFV spokesman Fabian Frühwirth. “The referee has our full support.”
The referee group says it has contacted the affected junior referee and wants to help him. “Such events are unfortunately no longer isolated cases. Disrespect towards referees is noticeably increasing, especially in the youth sector,” said district referee chairman Stefan Empl to the “Münchner Merkur”. Criticism is okay. “But what definitely doesn’t work is when adult coaches make noise during the game and heat up their players.”
Coexistence in society has changed, and this is also reflected on the football field, said Frühwirth, deputy BFV managing director. But most of the time it goes well. “Out of around 200,000 games that were recorded electronically in Bavaria last season, we had 80 incidents.” The proportion of such incidents is constant over the years. This may be perceived differently due to the much broader media coverage compared to before.
The association has a “clear zero-tolerance policy” in such cases, said Frühwirth. There was initially no statement from SG FC Fraunberg.