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From harassment and unwanted comments on the female body to structural sexism in clubs: This is what the SRF community says about the sexism problem in women’s football.
The community exchanged views on sexism in women’s football in comments on srf.ch and on social media. There was intensive discussion, especially on Instagram. Many readers wrote about similar problems in other sports, such as wrestling or ice hockey. A heated debate ensued, with some solution-oriented and some emotionally charged comments.
Options for action in the case of structural sexism
The fact that men’s teams have priority when it comes to using the pitch, even if they play in a lower league than women, is seen as unequal treatment. The community criticizes the statement by Dominique Blanc, President of the Swiss Football Association, that those affected should report violations of equal treatment. Blanc is the president of an association that structurally supports inequalities. “It’s like advising a person to contact themselves,” notes one user. “The association needs to be much more active and offensive,” demands Marc Harzenmoser.
Florian Kleffel also proposes a clean analysis of structural sexism. If spectator interest and the funds generated were then ignored, the only explanation for the allocation of training places would be sexism.
Is football culture the problem?
Another point of discussion is the culture among football fans, where sexist comments are commonplace. This culture cultivates an atmosphere that “enables individuals to let go of their last inhibitions, if they have any at all,” says Ueli Lang. Some have often witnessed sexist insults in the stadium, which are also indirectly aimed at women, such as “son of a bitch” or “son of a bitch”.
Future prospects for less sexism
The community presents approaches to combating sexism in women’s football in the future. Beat Reuteler thinks: “In my opinion, it is the current boom that will help the most. In my opinion, you cannot fight sexism in the forms described, but you have to abolish it. Large awareness campaigns are needed, similar to those in sport for coaches and leaders.” The aim of these courses is to eliminate harassment of any kind, says Reuteler. “The best support there can be is the growth of women’s football as a whole.”
Criticism was also leveled at the SRF appearance: “Under results ‘today’ you will find in order ‘Super League’ (men), ‘Challenge League’ (men), ‘Bundesliga’ (men), ‘Premier League’ (men) , etc. I know where I can find the women’s results, but this structure is not that different from that of the SFV in terms of the use of space, is it?”. This comment received a lot of support. SRF Sport is aware of this. «On the page mentioned, we concentrate on the results of those sports, disciplines and competitions that generate the greatest interest among our users. We ask for your understanding.”
They all agree on one point: sexism should not be tolerated on or off the pitch. Whether sexism in women’s football can be overcome or whether overcoming it is a utopia remains to be seen.