Maike Merz and Tanja Kuttler are sisters, mothers and the only female referee team in the men’s handball Bundesliga. They are currently whistling at the women’s European Championship.
We’re afraid you’ll break apart, many officials who were close to them have said. Fear that you won’t be able to withstand the pressure, that fans and media will rush you, that society isn’t ready for two women in the strongest male league in the world. Fear?
A Sunday afternoon in late October. The changing room in the SAP Arena in Mannheim has two bathrooms. Tanja Kuttler, 33, the younger of the two sisters, stands in front of one of the two mirrors, in front of the other Maike Merz, 36. Tie her hair in a ponytail, pinch strands behind her ear, nothing should distract her when she is about to lead a Bundesliga game: Rhein -Neckar Löwen against Hannover Burgdorf, not easy. If you want to be among the best, you have to pay attention to the details.
Merz and Kuttler show that both are possible: family and competitive sport
Maike’s younger daughter has her birthday this Sunday. So they celebrated the day before. It’s not the first time the two have whistle at a children’s birthday party. “We have to cut back a lot,” says Maike. When her older daughter took her first steps, she wasn’t there. About 1,000 kilometers away in a handball hall in Debrecen, she officiated a junior women’s world championship. The grandparents filmed the attempts to walk and sent a video. That hit her. “But I think you have to be a bit flexible.”
Maike has two daughters, Tanja a son. Just a few days ago, the two received a message from a referee colleague from abroad. They are role models, it said. Role models that being a mom and referee can work. “The message said that through us they kept a lot of referees on their side who actually wanted to focus on the family. We’re proud of that,” says Tanja Kuttler.
In the beginning, they were not equal as referees
You grew up in Tettnang on Lake Constance. Her parents were gifted handball players. Tanja and Maike have played in selected teams for years. But there were no high-class teams in their area, they would have had to change and leave their parents’ house early. You have decided against it.
They refereed games for the first time when they were youngsters, when their home club, TSV Tettnang, was urgently looking for referees. At first they were overwhelmed and didn’t enjoy it. And she was treated differently than her male counterparts.
“We both got our referee’s license at 16 with colleagues, some of whom didn’t even play handball actively. So they didn’t have the basic requirements that we automatically brought with us. And after that it was quite normal that they got the stronger games than us just because they were men. The sad thing is that it was completely normal for us at the time,” says Tanja Kuttler. “And I believe that with this inequality at the grassroots level, a gap will open up that at some point can no longer be closed.”
You can also deal with mistakes
Both wanted to quit, but then decided to try it as a team. That was in 2008. “We realized that we can achieve a lot together because we have the same attitude. Luckily that was the right path for us.”
You are ambitious, perfectionist. They move upright, their gestures clear, their faces focused, their eyes scanning everything, but during the game between Rhein-Neckar Löwen and Hannover they also laugh every now and then when they exchange ideas with the players. It’s not an easy game, many controversial situations, complaining coaches and players, heated atmosphere. The sporting competition appeals to her.
In the second half of the game there is a situation that they perceive differently. Maike first decides to throw in Hanover, Tanja saw the scene more clearly. Both discuss and finally give the throw-in to the Rhein-Neckar Löwen. “We want to make the right decision and not be right,” says Maike Merz. An attitude that earned them respect.
Seen a lot, traveled a lot
In 2011 they came to the German Handball Federation (DHB) through a sighting course. From then on it went up step by step for her. The other women who were there at the time all quit. “At the very beginning there was no foreseeable path for women, there wasn’t even a beaten path where you could see where your career could lead,” says Tanja Kuttler. You are now on the right track. It’s becoming more and more normal for women to whistle. “I hope that we have trampled the trail on a large scale, that many will follow us.”
They are now in the elite squad of the DHB and referee international tournaments. Greece, Iceland, Congo. You have experienced a lot, achieved a lot, traveled far.
Her environment supports her – otherwise it would not be possible
They coordinated Tanja’s first and Maike’s second pregnancy so as not to be out for too long. It worked exactly to ten weeks. “You have to be so honest and so unromantic: In competitive sports as a woman you have few opportunities. If we had gotten pregnant one after the other, we would have been out of business for so long that the way back would have been a very, very hard and difficult one,” says Tanya.
They have set up fitness rooms in their houses so that they can train with baby monitors. They often get up before five o’clock to do their exercises or use the children’s naps. Both work for an automotive supplier and are currently on parental leave. Her husbands, parents and in-laws support her. They keep a list of who takes care of which child and when. It wouldn’t be possible otherwise.
You are nominated for the Men’s World Championship
They have been whistling the men’s Bundesliga since 2018. They are currently in action at the women’s European Championship, which is being held in Slovenia, North Macedonia and Montenegro. In January they are nominated for the men’s world championships in Sweden and Poland. “We fought for a long time to referee men’s games. We had to do a lot of convincing,” says Tanja Kuttler. “Everyone has always supported us, everyone wanted to get us further, but a lot of officials just didn’t think we could do it,” says Maike Merz. “At some point we said: We want this, we want to withstand the pressure, we can do it.”
Fear? No fear!
