Promoted team 1. FC Nürnberg has criticized the performance of female referees in the women’s Bundesliga and called for opening up to male referees.
The sporting director Osman Cankaya described the situation as after numerous wrong decisions “alarming” as well as “no longer acceptable” and denounced “Qualitative deficiencies and structural deficits” at the German Football Association (DFB).
Quality and competence
“We only see a short-term, acute solution in abolishing the previous policy of having the games in the 1st and 2nd women’s Bundesliga exclusively led by female referees.”said Cankaya. The focus when appointing referees must be in the future “across genders on quality and competence” lay.
The reason for the statement is one “serious wrong decision” of the team in the club women’s 4-0 defeat at Werder Bremen last Saturday. However, Cankaya made it a point to not look at the situation through the club’s lens. “We’re talking about a cross-club, league-wide problem here.”of the “all clubs” are affected and the league’s attractiveness suffers.
Critical voices from other clubs too
“Why aren’t we able to open the gates to male referees?”asked department head Bianca Rech from champions Bayern Munich in kicker at the beginning of the year. Ralf Kellermann, sporting director at cup winners VfL Wolfsburg, assisted: “We are the only top nation in Europe that doesn’t allow itself to fill the female referee teams with men.”
Cankaya also offered help. “We are happy to support the development of a sustainable and optimized training concept to promote female referees”he said, “Although this can only provide a remedy in the medium term at best.”