Women’s football in Germany is experiencing a boom, and the level in the Bundesliga is rising. But not everyone is happy with the referees.
After the 4-0 defeat at Werder Bremen, 1. FC Nürnberg expressed severe criticism of the referees in the Bundesliga. Osman Cankaya, sporting director of the “Club” women, said in a press release: “We are at a point where the current situation in the referee area (…) is no longer acceptable and at which we are consciously making a public statement “We have to and want to point out qualitative grievances and structural deficits at the DFB.”
The background to the complaint was the situation before the 0-1 defeat from Nuremberg’s perspective. In the 59th minute, defender Lara Schmidt received the ball in the face from a cross and immediately collapsed to the ground. But referee Nadine Westerhoff pointed to the spot and recognized a handball. Werder’s Michelle Ulbrich converted the penalty and thus initiated the clear victory for Bremen. Much to the annoyance of the Bundesliga second-to-last team from Nuremberg.
“We find both the quality and the quantity of errors alarming, which in our opinion not only affects the competition but also the attractiveness of the Bundesliga.” All clubs are affected, says Cankaya.
Male referees for women? A “more complex issue”
There have been more complaints about the performance of referees this season. According to those responsible at FC Bayern and VfL Wolfsburg, it is also a problem that referees from the men’s professional leagues are not allowed to whistle in the women’s upper house because there are separate squads at the German Football Association. The DFB also has concerns about young women.
“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 led exclusively by female referees and focusing on quality and competence across gender in the appointments (…) 1. FC Nürnberg suggests.
Christine Beitinger, sports director of female referees at the DFB, recently described dismantling this caste system as a “more complex issue” and said: “The prerequisite must be that male referees are part of the women’s Bundesliga. Then we are fundamentally open to it. So referees should Be part of the women’s Bundesliga squad.”