At last!
The ARD breaks with a misogynist taboo
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Sabine Töpperwien gave an important impetus when she left with the words "I will not see a woman commenting on a World Cup or European Championship final". Now her wish will come true faster than she thought.
The "ARD" has made historical plans for the upcoming European and World Cup in men's football: For the first time, the finals of both tournaments will be commented on by women on the radio. The EM, which was originally supposed to take place last year, will be held from mid-June to mid-July this year in twelve European countries. The World Cup is scheduled to take place in Qatar in 2022.
Julia Metzner comments on the final of the EM
With female commentators, "Das Erste" wants to emphasize its wish to continue promoting women in sports journalism, reports "Der Spiegel". One name is already known: Julia Metzner will comment on the final of the European Championship. This decision was initiated by Sabine Töpperwien. She announced her departure after three decades and expressed her disappointment about the role women play in sports journalism.
I won't see a woman commenting on a World Cup or European Championship final.
With this sentence she gave the impetus for the decision that was announced today. Valerie Weber, WDR program director and chairwoman of the ARD audio program conference, justified the decision "Des First" with the statement made by Töpperwien. According to the "Stern", Weber "got the ball rolling."
"She deserves this final"
Julia Metzner is already a well-known voice on the radio: The 46-year-old works as a radio interviewer for "SWR" and has already participated in various sporting events: From the 2012 Olympics to Wimbledon to the 2010 and 2016 World Cup, she can look back on an impressive one Looking back on a career. And with the EM 2021 it will get a cherry on the cake. Steffen Simon, the EM team boss of "ARD", proves that the decision for Metzner was not made spontaneously because it had to be a woman: "Julia Metzner regularly comments in front of eight million listeners in the Bundesliga -Conference of the ARD radio waves and is doing a great job there. She deserves this finale. "
A provocative decision? We don't think so
But this apparently long overdue decision has not only met with positive feedback. Comments like "Provocative" or "Most viewers want a male voice as a commentator" land under the associated post on Instagram. We would like – regardless of the sport – more strong female voices that prove that the apparently male-dominated male world is also open to us!
Sources used: sportschau.de, spiegel.de, stern.de, instagram.de