'A pioneer in a male domain': Iconic referee Bibiana Steinhaus retires after German Supercup
Bibiana Steinhaus, the trailblazing referee and first female to officiate a men's Bundesliga match, has retired following Wednesday's German Supercup game between Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund.
The 41-year-old, who resolutely faced down sexism and silenced doubters to become one of the leading officials in the game, made the announcement prior to kick-off, in what was another milestone moment in her career.
The first woman to referee a professional men's match in Germany when she oversaw a 1-1 draw between Hertha Berlin and Werder Bremen in 2017, Steinhaus created more history on Wednesday by becoming the first to officiate the men's cup final, which ended in a 3-2 victory for Bayern Munich.
Speaking before the match Steinhaus, who is in a relationship with former referee Howard Webb, revealed her decision had been made for personal reasons, indicating she would speak more 'when the time is right.'
"Like a lot of people during the time of the coronavirus pandemic, I got to thinking quite a bit and re-evaluating things," she said. "I had a very honest and constructive discussion with Lutz Michael Frohlich, who is head of elite refereeing for the German Football Association (DFB), and after weighing up a lot of factors very carefully, I decided to bring an end to my career as a referee, both domestically and internationally."
A trained police officer, Steinhaus first started refereeing in the Women’s Bundesliga in 1999, and became the first female to referee a Women's World Cup final in 2011 and first to take charge of the Women's Olympic gold medal match in 2012.
Named women's referee of the year on seven occasions, she took part during the Women's World Cup and Women's Euros three times each as well as the 2017 Women's Champions League final.
It was, however, the determined impact she also made on the men's game, particularly in her native Germany, which marked her out as a role model for those following in her footsteps.
In 2015, after Steinhaus sent off Kerem Demirbay, the then-Fortuna Duesseldorf midfielder reportedly told her: "Women have no place in men's football." He was roundly criticised 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.
It was not the only time she faced different treatment for being a woman in the middle. During her first season with the whistle in the Bundesliga in 2017, Franck Ribery, then at Bayern Munich, decided it would be funny to untie her shoelace while pretending to prepare for a freekick. Steinhaus deftly dealt with the situation by giving the Frenchman two playful punches on the arm and later stated firmly such pranks would not happen again.
Three years earlier, as the fourth official, she became the target of manager Pep Guardiola, also at Bayern Munich who had begun to take out his frustrations on her at his team's performance. Calmly shrugging off his arm around her shoulder, she pushed him away and immediately got on with the game.
"I think we've shown that it isn't a question of gender when it comes to whether you can be an active referee or not," she told the Phrasenmäher podcast last year. "It's about quality of performance and performance aspirations."
Steinhaus hangs up her whistle having refereed 23 Bundesliga matches, 92 in the second division and 35 in the Women’s Bundesliga.
"I very much regret the early retirement of Bibiana Steinhaus,” said Fritz Keller, president of the German football federation, in a statement. “In the future German football must not only do without an excellent referee, but it also loses an exceptional personality and a pioneer in a male domain.”
