Tuesday, October 5th, 2021
Push or is it deadly?
Footballer sentenced after striking a referee
Again and again there are outbreaks of violence against referees in Germany’s amateur leagues. Most of the time, the cases only end up in front of the sports court, and there is rarely a conviction in an ordinary court. A prominent case is being negotiated in Düsseldorf. The verdict is mild.
After a brutal attack on a referee in Düsseldorf, a hobby footballer has to pay a fine of 2000 euros. A magistrate sentenced the 24-year-old to assault on charges of punching the referee twice in the neck.
At the end of September 2020 in Düsseldorf, the referee was attacked and injured in a game in the district league B between Eller 04 and SV Garath. After the referee had shown him the yellow-red card in the 80th minute after repeated foul play, a player from Garath had freaked out.
In the opinion of the court, however, the attack was significantly less dangerous than described in the indictment and by witnesses from the opposing team. The 24-year-old didn’t hit the referee’s larynx and didn’t hit the edge of his hand. The referee was also not in mortal danger.
The witnesses contradicted themselves whether the 60-year-old was passed out afterwards. The defendant had denied targeted blows – he only pushed the referee. The public prosecutor demanded eight months probation in vain: the beatings were nevertheless dangerous. Garather SV kicked his player out of the club after the incident and forbade him to enter the sports facilities.
Consequences even in professional football
Violence against referees is not uncommon in amateur sport, but no significant increase in such incidents has been observed in recent years. However, with the power of social media and the rapid spread of the news, attention has increased for it.
In response to a “hunt for the referee” in November 2019, the referees in Cologne’s district leagues A to D went on strike a little later. They wanted to send a “clear signal against violence and increasing brutality”. In the “Hetzjagd” two district league D players attacked a referee after a game first verbally and then physically. They were later fined.
Another consequence of the Cologne incident and the ensuing debate was a directive issued by the sports management of the professional referees in January 2020 to punish unsporting behavior more consistently in the DFL divisions – not least to serve as a model for amateur football to act.
This directive, which was no longer pursued with the onset of the corona pandemic and the ghost games, only caused a stir in the Bundesliga again at the end of September 2021. Referee Deniz Aytekin had sent Dortmund’s Mahmoud Dahoud to dismiss after a yellow-red foul. “Certain behavior on the pitch has to be prevented. Not everyone has a bye and can do what they want,” said Aytekin.