Steffani Jenz wanted to breastfeed her baby in the family area of the Union Stadium. A man harassed her. The club has already responded to the descriptions.
On the sidelines of the game there was apparently a scandal in the family area of the stadium at the Alte Försterei. Steffani Jenz, the wife of Wolfsburg professional Moritz Jenz, describes an unpleasant encounter with a Union supporter on her social media channels.
As Jenz reports, she wanted to breastfeed her almost one-year-old son in an almost deserted stadium restaurant during the game. She was disturbed and harassed by a man.
Jenz is harassed by a Union fan while breastfeeding
Jenz wrote a detailed post in English on Instagram on Sunday, the day after the game. It says: “Yesterday I was in Berlin to watch my husband’s game against Union Berlin. During the first half I went to the family area, which was full of tables, almost all of which were empty, and I sat down with my girlfriend to one and began breastfeeding my eleven-month-old son.”
An unpleasant incident then occurred there. Jenz continued: “Suddenly a man in his 70s came up to me with a pretty angry/disturbed face and started speaking in German and made a very rude sign that we have to leave. He has a beer in his hand and is coming very close to me and puts his scarf on our jackets.”
According to her descriptions, there were at least eight free chairs at the table where Jenz was sitting and the room had several more free tables.
Jenz: Fan shouted “in a very rude way”.
When she asked him if she could do something for him, the man became louder and again signaled that Jenz should leave the room with her child.
Because the man had gotten “too close” to her baby, she went to another table with her son in one arm and her backpack in the other. The man took one of the child’s toys and shouted “in a very rude way” that she should take the toy with her. He then “literally threw the toy at me.”
Jenz, whose husband Moritz is a native of Berlin, turned to the restaurant staff. But that didn’t seem to “understand the magnitude of what just happened.” So, according to her, she asked for security guards.
She described the incident in detail to a security guard and asked to speak to the man who had harassed her. He did that, but not with the expected result. Jenz: “I see him go to him and after less than five seconds of conversation they both start laughing together.”
Union reacts to Jenz’s descriptions
She: “Unfortunately, we live in a society that not only does not condemn these types of ignorant people, but also protects them and has the courage to laugh about them.”
Jenz concluded with a direct address to the club: “Dear Union Berlin, you are the first club with a female assistant coach and you call yourself a ‘family club’, but you should be careful who you hire and make sure your staff trained in respect for women and families.
Union Berlin responded immediately to Jenz’s Instagram post, writing under the post: “Dear Steffani, we are very sorry to hear about this incident. We have forwarded your complaint to our head of security. Women should breastfeed their babies everywhere without harassment can. Especially in a family area. We’re trying to work things out, thank you for speaking up.”