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Referee Bart
Photo: Hafner / Nordphoto / IMAGO
The German basketball referee Benjamin Barth has not been assigned any more games in the Euroleague because he has not shaved off his beard.
The 43-year-old told the "Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung" and documented the incident with chat logs from autumn 2021. "Stokes explained to me that head coaches and sports directors don't like beards and would complain about it," said Barth, referring to Richard Stokes, the chief referee of the Euroleague.
The German referee refused to shave his beard, even after repeated requests.
'I don't see what that's supposed to mean.
What difference does it make if I shave or not?
This is a form of discrimination.
As much as I would like to whistle the Euroleague, I can't accept that," said the Munich player, explaining his decision.
From then on, he was no longer used in Europe's highest basketball club league.
Barth goes public against discrimination
Barth, who whistled as one of the referees at the Bundesliga final tournament in June 2020, which ended the 2019/2020 season interrupted by the pandemic, called in lawyers from then on and threatened the league to go public.
The German says he is no longer concerned with himself, but that there will be no more such incidents in the future.
“You have to see whether the organization really changes.
But it's important that the public knows about this process," said Barth, who has overseen more than 500 games in the Bundesliga.
see/dpa