Volksparkstadion Neuruppin. Men’s point game of the state class West, Brandenburg. MSV Neuruppin second team welcomes the Langen SV. It’s a hard-fought game, the hosts lead 2-1, and a player from Langen commits a tactical foul right in front of the grandstand. Because he has already been warned, he now sees yellow and red. Angry and loud, he leaves the field. “Take the filthy women out of football, really!” Then shouts from the audience: “Hey, you bird!”
The player scolds the referee: Maja Wallstein, who has been active in the Brandenburg state football association for eleven years. A clear case of discrimination.
“From experience, it’s more the spectators who haven’t gotten it yet and for whom it’s more of an issue that a woman is whistling. But that’s not just the case in football. In football, you might see it like under a magnifying glass a little bit stronger.”
5,500 documented incidents – from discrimination to physical violence
The referee notes the incident in the game report under the heading “Incidents”. The referees recorded a total of 5,582 so-called incidents in their online match reports last season. Discrimination is part of it, but so are acts of violence such as assault and threats. Criminologist Thaya Vester explains that games tend to escalate more often in late autumn, when players who are subject to a personal penalty feel they have been treated unfairly.
“If things don’t go well in the first few games, I can still talk it up. And then at some point I can’t anymore. It only builds up bit by bit, it has a lot to do with disappointed expectations, frustration, and then it piles up yourself that.”
DFB is looking for ways out and concepts to prevent violence
Thaya Vester researches incidents of violence in amateur football and advises the DFB on this matter. For a long time, the football association has been looking for ways to counteract the brutality on the football pitch. The fan and violence researcher Gunter Pilz advised the DFB on the development of a violence prevention concept.
He gives an example from his home town of Celle. There, a player who had hit a referee in hospital was offered a half-year reduction in his one-year ban if he did a referee course and then whistled at least three games.
According to Gunter Pilz, the player agreed to the deal, with the result: “He finally got to know the football rules. So: some of them don’t know the football rules. In this respect, I think it’s very important that all football players take on the role of referee early on, so that they can get a feel for what the situation is like for a referee on the pitch.”
DFB status report: 911 game abandonments in the 2021/22 season
“Then you noticed, okay, unfortunately nothing has changed due to Corona, especially not improved, but if so, then rather worsened. And there are now more crises again, and of course at some point it will affect them People who play or watch this football, and then unfortunately football is also an outlet.”
DFB wants to enforce more respect in the Bundesliga again
In order to get the problem under control, the DFB “turned the wheel further a few years ago and demanded a significantly higher level of respect and tolerance,” said DFB Vice President Ronny Zimmermann, who is responsible for amateur football, in an interview with Deutschlandfunk.
Gestures such as waving at the referee should also be punished more severely in the Bundesliga. “It worked well at the beginning, but then unfortunately waned,” says Zimmermann. “That’s exactly why we’ve brought it up again and are now in the process of turning the wheel back or shortening this line where we actually want to go.”
In general, Zimmermann is in favor of referees being allowed to take tougher action in amateur football and should also be able to show yellow and yellow-red cards more quickly. However, he has to convince his colleagues. “We live in a democratic state and you need majorities for your ideas.”
According to Zimmermann, many are of the opinion that emotionality is part of football. “And when they say emotional, they actually mean something completely different. And I have a completely different opinion on that.”
De-escalation training for referees
Various pilot projects are to be launched in the coming months. “We will do de-escalation training for referees. We will test whether that works in two or three national associations.”
The clubs should be made more responsible for this. “The club is responsible locally,” says Zimmermann. “I always say you are the host and it is part of the host that you treat your guest properly. And the referee is also part of it.” The same should also apply to the guest. “The guest must also be aware of his guest role and behave accordingly. And then we would have already achieved a lot.”