“I don’t want to hide”
Referee proposes marriage to partner in the stadium
January 31, 2026 – 10:05 a.mReading time: 1 min.
Pascal Kaiser uses the 1. FC Köln stage for a special moment. The amateur referee asks his partner the question of all questions in front of thousands of spectators.
Before the Bundesliga game against VfL Wolfsburg, amateur referee Pascal Kaiser proposed to his partner Moritz over the stadium microphone on Friday evening. 1. FC Köln provided the fan with the stage for this special moment as part of its diversity matchday. Kaiser, who referees in the regional league, is one of the few visibly queer people in German football after coming out in 2022.
“I don’t want to hide, I want to be visible. Not loudly, provocatively, but honestly. I want everyone to see that I love this person. A man, as a man, in football,” said the FC fan before the start of the game, which Cologne won 1-0.
Friday evening in Müngersdorf was all about diversity. The four stadium posts glowed in rainbow colors. The team wore a special jersey. When they arrived, the players were accompanied by people from the FC foundation projects. The aim of the campaigns is to “set an important example of diversity in sport and society,” said FC managing director Philipp Türoff.
