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secondibiana Steinhaus made her decision carefully and during the long forced pause. “Like many people at the time of the Corona situation, I reflected on some things and revalued them,” said the first referee in the history of the Bundesliga, drawing a completely surprising line on Wednesday. After “carefully weighing many factors”, she decided “to end her national and international career as a referee”. The league will miss them.
Just this Wednesday morning the German Football Association confirmed that the referee, who has been whistling in the Bundesliga since 2017, will lead for the first time the final of the German Super Cup between FC Bayern and Borussia Dortmund. A prize. And a dignified farewell. Before kick-off, the managing director of the German Football League, Christian Seifert, presented a bouquet of flowers as a symbolic farewell gift. The president of the German Football Association, Fritz Keller, had already paid tribute to the Hannover policeman: “In the future, German football will not only have to do without an outstanding referee, it will also lose an extraordinary personality and a pioneer in the masculine realm “.
Top referee of German professional football: Bibiana Steinhaus
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Image: Reuters
Three years ago Steinhaus stepped onto the grass of the Olympic Stadium in Berlin, “knowing how to write history”, as she had told him the last time. The debut of the first female referee in the Bundesliga received worldwide attention. “It was a long road,” said the 41-year-old, looking back.
For the voluntary end of the pioneering referee’s highly regarded career, private reasons must be decisive. The age limit for Bundesliga referees is 47 and it was just as irrelevant as their performance. “I will be more detailed about the reasons for my retirement in due course,” Steinhaus said. But you can guess. Steinhaus has been in a relationship with former English FIFA referee Howard Webb, who lives in New York, for four years. The love for his partner and the longing to have a family of his own were probably stronger than the passion for football that determined his life for years.
Steinhaus was named “Referee of the Year” six times, and represented Germany three times each at the Women’s World Cup and the European Championships. But she really came into focus through her pioneering role as the first female referee in men’s soccer. After her, only Riem Hussein made this leap, which has not yet been used in the first Bundesliga.
“Bibiana Steinhaus has established herself firmly among Bundesliga referees in recent years and has earned respect and recognition for her achievements,” said Christian Seifert, Managing Director of the German Football League. “The end of her career is a surprise. Personally, I wish her all the best for the future and that the Super Cup be remembered as a worthy end to her career. “
Listen carefully: Stars like Thiago, still here at Bayern in 2019, followed Bibiana Steinhaus’s instructions.
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Image: EPA
Steinhaus has been active in the Bundesliga since 2017, as the only woman to this day. “Bibiana is an exceptional figure,” he praised at the time the DFB chief referee, Lutz Michael Fröhlich, and thanked his farewell: “He deserves the highest recognition for what he has achieved, the greatest respect for his decision and great thanks on my part for the absolutely reliable cooperation. “Steinhaus is” an absolute asset to football, both in terms of the way he conducts the games and in personal contact. “
Steinhaus led 23 games in the upper house and was also on regular duty as a fourth official and, most recently, as a video assistant. Ten years earlier, he made his debut in the second Bundesliga and gradually reduced prejudice there.
His credo: “Even if that sounds flat now, but I want to manage all the upcoming games well,” Steinhaus said recently. “Because every game deserves the best game master possible. My drive is to be able to continue to develop further and I am offered the opportunity in every game. ”That is over.
