Sports
WOMEN footballers are still the target of sexist and derogatory remarks from fans, officials and coaches in Germany, according to reports released on Thursday.
According to the reports, German internationals and other Bundesliga players have said that such incidents are common.
One player, who was not identified, spoke of a Bundesliga coach who had made sexist remarks, allegations confirmed by other players.
The reports said that the coach is no longer at the club.
German Football Federation (DFB) secretary general Heike Ullrich said that their prevention work has not reached all clubs and areas.
“Every perceived transgression is one too many. That has to be addressed,” Ullrich said.
She added the problem was not limited to football, saying: “It is the task of all of us, not only in football and sports, but in our society to draw attention to these transgressions.”
National team goalkeeper Almuth Schult said that the women not only face sexist remarks but also have inferior facilities and training conditions compared to the men.
She however acknowledged that progress has since been made in these areas.
The reports have come during the women’s Euro 2022 tournament where the team is getting plenty of attention and set to play Austria in the quarter-finals later on Thursday.
“The momentum is there at the moment to create change. It is simply about equality and equal opportunities,” Schult said.
European governing body UEFA said on Tuesday that 618 posts on social media platforms had been flagged for review during the Euro group stage and 55 percent of them removed by the time.
The 618 posts were one percent of the overall posts on the tournament.
Around 19 percent were directed at players and 20 percent at team accounts and 70 percent of the posts were general abuse, 20 percent sexist, six percent racist and four percent homophobic.
“Our main goal is always to protect our game. It is great to see the project in action, and I am pleased that we can already see the concrete impact this is having based on the numbers from the group stage,” said Michele Uva, UEFA director of football and social responsibility.
“Posts are being identified and removed, and we hope that this gives players, coaches, and referees the possibility to be protected by UEFA.
“Our next steps are to work proactively to prevent, report, and facilitate removal of abusive posts and comments, and we recognise our responsibility and role in this.
“We will continue to share insights in the last part of our fantastic EURO and in future UEFA events.”
UEFA is raising awareness in various ways, including a new documentary series on discrimination and abuse named “Outraged” which was launched on Wednesday.(dpa/NAN)
A.I
Tags: Heike Ullrich Michele Uva UEFA WOMEN footballers
