Complaint about unequal treatment
World Cup referees were “put obstacles in their way”
01/10/2023 11:46 am
Two German referees celebrate their debut at the Handball World Championship. They say the way to the really big stages is much longer and more difficult than for their male colleagues.
Before their premiere at a men’s World Cup, German handball referees Maike Merz and Tanja Kuttler complained about unequal treatment between the sexes in the past. “A lot of obstacles were put in our way at the beginning, so we don’t have to mince words. We were simply not believed to be able to go all the way to the top,” criticized Kuttler in an interview with “Mannheimer Morgen”. .
Merz reported: “When we started, women on the pipe were not the norm, but an exception. We were exotic. When we entered a hall, we had to listen to something more often.”
“We had to be better than men”
With the sisters from Baden-Württemberg, two German referees will be present for the first time at the World Cup finals in Poland and Sweden, which begin on Wednesday. However, the ascent was very difficult for both of them. “What happened automatically with ambitious and committed men was not made possible for us for a long time. We had to be better than men,” said Kuttler. When there were no promotions, “we asked briskly why other colleagues passed us despite comparable performance,” says Merz. “That opened the eyes of many officials.” The situation is now different: “A lot has changed for the better.”
The upcoming tournament is “a high point in our career. We appreciate our work to have been nominated for this World Cup,” said Kuttler. The two sisters have been whistling together since 2008 and have also been used in the men’s Bundesliga since 2019. In 2017, an all-female team whistled for the first time at a men’s handball world championship.