BERLIN: Bibiana Steinhaus will make history in Germany on Sunday when she becomes the first woman to referee a Bundesliga game.
The German football federation announced on Thursday that the 38-year-old police officer is to take charge of Hertha Berlin’s home game against Werder Bremen, confirming her place among the league’s elite group of 24 referees.
“She deserves it through her great performances,” Bremen coach Alexander Nouri said.
Hoffenheim’s Julian Nagelsmann added, “I’m happy. It’s all the same to me if a man or a woman is refereeing — the main thing is that they do the job well.”
Steinhaus has already spent a decade refereeing in Germany’s second division and she has plenty of experience with many of the country’s top stars from taking charge of German Cup games, too.
Bayern Munich winger Franck Ribery has already showed she may be treated differently to her male colleagues when he played a trick on her during the side’s cup tie at Chemnitzer FC in August.
Ribery untied one of her bootlaces as he pretended to put the ball in place for a free kick. Steinhaus passed it off by giving Ribery a couple of playful punches in response, but it is debatable whether the French forward would have attempted the same trick had he been dealing with a male referee.
The daughter of a referee, Steinhaus began by officiating women’s games for the DFB in 1999. Steinhaus then became a FIFA referee in 2005 and earned her place in the second division in 2007, as the first female ref in German professional football.
Steinhaus has handled women’s World Cups and European Championships, along with the 2012 Olympic women’s final between the US and Japan. Last June, she took charge of the women’s Champions League final between Lyon and Paris Saint-Germain.
Male players have mostly treated Steinhaus with respect, but any incidents involving her receive greater attention.
Defender Peter Niemeyer, who was playing for Hertha at the time, accidentally swiped her breast when he meant to pat her on the shoulder during a game in 2010.
In 2015, after Steinhaus sent off Kerem Demirbay, the then-Fortuna Duesseldorf midfielder reportedly told her: “Women have no place in men’s football.”
Demirbay was roundly criticized for the remark and handed a three-game ban with two further games suspended. Duesseldorf also made Demirbay referee a girls’ game to ensure he understood the message.
Demirbay apologized both publicly and to Steinhaus directly for his comment, and said he was “very happy that she accepted my apology.”
The two will likely meet again this season if Steinhaus takes charge of any games involving his current club, Hoffenheim.
Steinhaus making history as Bundesliga’s first female referee
Steinhaus making history as Bundesliga’s first female referee
Filipino fans celebrate as favorites advance at Dubai Tennis Championships
- WTA 1000 event off to dramatic start as Kabayan community-loved duo Alexandra Eala and Leylah Fernandez thrill center court with contrasting victories
- Britain’s top-ranked female player Emma Raducanu takes on Italian qualifier Elisabetta Cocciaretto in Monday’s action, with tickets still available
DUBAI: After weeks of anticipation, women’s week at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championship burst into life on the opening day as two favorites of the Filipino expatriate community progressed to the second round in front of capacity crowds.
Rising star Alexandra Eala — still only 20 and already the highest-ranked Filipino in WTA history at world No. 40 — lined up against powerful American Hailey Baptiste, the world No. 39.
Baptiste, having qualified for the match as a lucky loser after falling to Slovakia’s Rebecca Sramkova in Saturday’s final qualifiers, she nonetheless cut an imposing figure compared to the diminutive Eala, who is four years her junior and making her Dubai debut.
Yet with every corner of center court transformed by the red, white and blue of the Philippines flag, Eala immediately tapped into the energy with an array of crowd-pleasing winners as she railed against Baptiste’s power advantage.
After trading breaks early on, Eala buzzed around court and stole the momentum with a break of serve before nervelessly holding to seal the set 6-4.
Baptiste valiantly held serve in the opening game of the second set before Elea suddenly found herself advancing to the next round after the American retired with an abdominal injury.
An expectant crowd was stunned and fell silent, but noise levels soared back to deafening as the victor addressed center court. “No-one likes advancing in this way,” she said.
“Being on tour, I am starting to discover how difficult it is to maintain your health physically. I’m really hoping that Hailey will bounce back soon.”
Turning her attention and affections to her adoring fans, Eala added: “I’m super happy to be in the next round.
“This tournament is serving up such great experiences for me, especially playing in front of the best crowd ever. Hello everyone, hello Kabayans. I’m very happy to advance to the next round.”
Earlier in the afternoon, Canada’s Leylah Fernandez, the world No. 27, and Russia’s Liudmila Samsonova, ranked 10 places higher, played out an epic three-set showdown that lasted close to three hours.
After a tense first set in which Samsonova eventually prevailed 7-5, Fernandez — who boasts Filipino heritage — battled back in a knife-edge second set.
The 23-year-old unleashed a series of immaculate winners to sail into a 5-2 lead, before a resurgent Samsonova won three consecutive games to wrestle back momentum and level the set at 5-5.
The Russian’s mini comeback flattered to deceive however, as Fernandez held her serve and then immediately broke serve to clinch the set 7-5 and force a deciding set.
With Fernandez moving into a 2-0 lead in the early throes of the third set, Samsonova suddenly found herself holding two break points and a chance to regain her match footing.
Fernandez, buoyed by a partisan crowd that reveled in celebrating her Filipino ancestry, dug deep. Occasionally scurrying and battling to stay in points, she produced winners under pressure and benefited hugely as Samsonova’s unforced errors tallied up.
Brimming with confidence, Fernandez surged into a seemingly unassailable 5-0 lead in the third set, only for the never-say-die Samsonova to hit back with three quick games in a row.
Serving for the match for a second time, Fernandez regained her composure to hold serve and eliminate the 13th seed.
After signing dozens of autographs on caps, T-shirts, balls, souvenir programs, and anything frenzied fans could find for a signature, Fernandez was quick to acknowledge the acclaim she received from fans at the tournament.
“It definitely felt different tonight,” she said.
“I remember the past couple of years I’ve played day matches, sometimes first on, so there wasn’t a lot of fans. Today, there were a lot more and to see so many fans come watch women’s tennis means a lot, it shows the sport is growing, so I’m very happy.”
When asked if she feels a type of home advantage in Dubai, she added: “Yeah, actually, kind of. It does feel nice because you kind of feel at home. It helps a lot.
“Sometimes when you’re travelling so much you forget why you play tennis and fans always help you to remember. To feel that warmth, that love, and the passion that they have is a lot of fun.”
The final match of the night had the Czech Republic’s Sara Bejlek, ranked No. 38 in the world, needing only 75 minutes for a 6-2, 6-2 dismantling of Turkey’s Zeynep Sonmez.
Britain’s Emma Raducanu, another massive Dubai favorite, will face a first-round tie against Italian qualifier Elisabetta Cocciaretto on court two at 3 p.m.
