German female ref ready to whistle in Bundesliga

During a second division match in 2015, she sent off Hoffenheim’s Germany international Kerem Demirbay, then playing for Fortuna Duesseldorf, who told her women had no place in football.

The remark led to him receiving a five-match ban by the German FA.

Steinhaus, who works with a fitness coach, acknowledges that refereeing in the Bundesliga will challenge her both on and off the pitch.

“I like to say that the Bundesliga is another step up, I have worked intensively and the speed is different,” said Steinhaus.

“Certainly, as a female referee, I will be under special scrutiny from the start of the season, especially from the media.

“I don’t seek public attention and my colleagues know me well enough to know that.”

Steinhaus is a policewoman and in a relationship with English former top ref Howard Webb.

She can expect to have her decisions scrutinised by fans in football-mad Germany.

Claudia Neumann, Germany’s first female commentator, experienced a sexist backlash on social media when she took the microphone for state broadcaster ZDF during last year’s European championships.

“In football, which is the favourite child of German men, changes are about as welcome as an annoying bout of diarrhoea,” Neumann told SID, an AFP subsidiary.

A survey by Loughborough University has found only 3.7 percent of senior positions in European football are occupied by women.

Even in women’s football, 10 of the 12 teams in Germany’s top flight are coached by men.

Nevertheless, Steinhaus is relishing her chance to make history by blowing her whistle in the Bundesliga.

“It has always been my dream and I am delighted that it will come true,” she said.