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Bibiana Steinhaus headed a total of 23 games in the men's Bundesliga
Photo: Alexander Hassenstein / Getty Images
Bibiana Steinhaus has always been a bit alienated from the role of being a pioneer and a symbol for change in men's football: "It's not a big deal for me, but I have to deal with it because it is one for others."
So it was in the "New York Times" at the beginning of November 2017, which usually does not pay too much attention to German football, but at the time devoted a large portrait to the referee.
What exactly had the reason that Steinhaus himself did not like to see and see in the foreground: to be the first woman ever to lead games in one of the top professional leagues in football.
In doing so, she "never intended to emancipate," as she once said to the "Süddeutsche Zeitung".
"I only do what I love" - whistle football games.
In the first few years she tried to "fly under the radar, to become one with the group of referees", in which there are usually almost only men.
"Until I realized that I would never succeed. It took a long time to take on this other role."
The "other role" is that of the pioneer, the figurehead.
She is now ending her career at the age of 41.
The Supercup on Wednesday was their last game.
Steinhaus has often emphasized that, above all, she would like to be treated and evaluated in the same way as her male colleagues.
There should be no disadvantage, but also no preferential treatment and no special leniency or indulgence for mistakes.
When the fitness coach in the training camp of the DFB referees says "Great, men!"
shouted, Steinhaus did not feel left out.
She was rather bothered when a functionary opened his speech with the words "Dear Bibiana, dear colleagues", thus highlighting the only woman in the group.
De-escalation as a great strength
In football, with its often excessive male dominance, many in the stands and in the associations have only very slowly accepted women; this is particularly true for female referees.
Gertrud Regus from Hallstadt in Upper Franconia was the first woman ever in a Bundesliga referee team in the mid-1990s.
As a line judge, however, she only made two missions.
In Bibiana Steinhaus, on the other hand, you noticed that times were changing.
At the age of 22 she was already leading games in the then third-class regional division for men, which was extraordinary.
Six years later, in September 2007, she was the first female referee in Germany to whistle a professional men's game, the second division game between Paderborn 07 and TSG Hoffenheim.
The media coverage back then was great - and extremely positive.
The DFB soon put the police officer in place as the fourth official in the Bundesliga, and that's where she played out her strengths: curbing conflicts through personality, calming emotions, de-escalating situations.
It is no coincidence that the chief referees relied on Steinhaus again and again when there were games with impulsive coaches.
Most of the time it stayed calm, she hit the right note and enjoyed great acceptance.
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Steinhaus said goodbye to the Supercup with flowers
Photo: Alexander Hassenstein / Getty Images
As the main referee Bibiana Steinhaus did not seem to reach the German elite league.
While she was among the best in the world in women's football and headed the finals at the 2011 World Cup and the 2012 Olympic Games, her career stagnated among men.
In October 2014, the "Bild" newspaper even demanded: "Let Bibi whistle in the Bundesliga!"
But the referee committee of the DFB waved it off.
Its chairman at the time, Herbert Fandel, said that "for us it is not about men or women, but solely about the performance shown over a longer period of time".
And that was obviously not enough for those in charge to entrust Steinhaus with even higher tasks.
It wasn't until Fandel left that Steinhaus reached her destination
The most important assessment basis at that time was the grades for the game directors - now abolished in the top three leagues - which apart from the respective referees only knew the commission.
Steinhaus, so it was learned, did not occupy a place in the front area in the season ranking for a long time.
However, she ended the 2015/2016 season as the best second division referee.
Nevertheless, four other male colleagues rose to the House of Lords instead of her.
At the time, many, including those among colleagues, suspected that she was not trusted to play the Bundesliga as a woman and therefore simply did not want to promote her.
The public did not understand the decision.
The tenor among fans and the media was: The time is ripe for a referee in the Bundesliga and there is a suitable candidate - so why wait any longer?
Steinhaus himself thought about the end of his career for the first time, but then made another attempt.
Especially since there was a change in the referee management: Fandel, who reluctantly tolerated contradiction, was followed by the much less authoritarian Lutz Michael Fröhlich.
With him, the performance principle returned, as Bundesliga referee Manuel Gräfe once put it.
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Steinhaus at her Bundesliga debut in the Olympic Stadium
Photo: Matthias Kern / Bongarts / Getty Images
Steinhaus promptly reached her goal, at 38, after ten years in the second division: On September 10, 2017, she made her debut in the Bundesliga at the Hertha BSC game against Werder Bremen.
Happy to ask the newly promoted referees where they would like to whistle their first game, and Steinhaus named the Berlin Olympic Stadium.
The game between Hertha and Bremen ended 1: 1, Steinhaus managed with only one yellow card and received a lot of praise.
Injuries prevented further missions
In her 23 Bundesliga games as a referee, Bibiana Steinhaus has not issued a single expulsion from the field and only shown 65 yellow cards.
The fact that there were no more games was also due to her susceptibility to injury, which repeatedly forced her to take breaks.
As a result, she was unable to complete the DFB's mandatory running test in the training camp at Chiemsee this summer, for the third time in a row.
Unlike in previous years, Steinhaus did not have the option of making up for it at an individual appointment.
"After a very trusting and constructive conversation with Lutz Michael Fröhlich, I decided, after carefully weighing up many factors, to end my national and international career as a referee," the 41-year-old is quoted on the DFB website.
There were no longer any realistic sporting goals for her that she had not already achieved.
At least you won't see Bibiana Steinhaus on the soccer field.
However, she will stay with the Bundesliga as a video assistant.
A successor in the upper house of men is currently not in sight - Riem Hussein (40) and Katrin Rafalski (38) whistle in the third division, they will probably not make the jump two classes higher due to age.
But Bibiana Steinhaus has ensured that female referees have become normal in men's football.
That is their historic achievement.
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