September 1 – Bibiana Steinhaus, the first female to officiate a men’s Bundesliga match, has retired after taking charge of the German Supercup match between Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday.
Steinhaus announced her retirement in the lead-up to the match, revealing her decision had been made for personal reasons. She indicated that she would speak more “when the time is right.”
“Like a lot of people during the time of the coronavirus pandemic, I got to thinking quite a bit and re-evaluating things,” said Steinhaus.
“I had a very honest and constructive discussion with Lutz Michael Frohlich, who is head of elite refereeing for the German Football Association (DFB), and after weighing up a lot of factors very carefully, I decided to bring an end to my career as a referee, both domestically and internationally.”
In 2017, Steinhaus became the first women to referee a professional men’s match in Germany when she took charge of the match Hertha Berlin – Werder Bremen in 2017. The next day, Bild’s headline read ‘Bibi is the Best’.
“I very much regret the early retirement of Bibiana Steinhaus,” said DFB president Fritz Keller in a statement. “In the future German football must not only do without an excellent referee, but it also loses an exceptional personality and a pioneer in a male domain.”
A police offer, Steinhaus first became a certified referee in Germany in 1999. She stepped up to the international level as well in 2005 as a FIFA referee for international competitions. She went on to referee the Women’s World Cup final in 2011 and the Women’s Olympic gold medal match in 2012.
Her role as a pioneer in the men’s game wasn’t always easy. In 2015, after Steinhaus sent off Kerem Demirbay, the then-Fortuna Dusseldorf midfielder reportedly told her: “Women have no place in men’s football.” By way of prank, Frank Ribery untied her shoelace while pretending to prepare for a free kick. Steinhaus was not having it and quickly became one of the Bundesliga’s top referees.
However, she always wanted the focus to be on her refereeing qualities and credentials – and not her gender.
“At the end of the day, it’s the performance that counts,” Steinhaus told Deutsche Welle in 2017. “And the person who has the best performance should be allowed to be on the pitch, regardless of gender, hair colour or religion. That’s all that counts.”
Contact the writer of this story, Samindra Kunti, at moc.l1734932033labto1734932033ofdlr1734932033owedi1734932033sni@o1734932033fni1734932033