Lutz Michael Fröhlich has asked footballers and coaches for more support in connection with hate and hostility towards referees on the Internet.
“When in doubt, the referees are to blame, the referee as a spoilsport – that’s the general perception. There is a lack of backing and appreciation for the commitment and performance,” complained the managing director of sport and communication at DFB Schiri GmbH in an interview with sportschau.de and made players and those responsible responsible: “The players and coaches can also help by dealing more with the referee’s perspective and publicly making positive comments, for example about a great advantage or a great penalty.”
The Collinas Erben account, which became known through the analysis of referee decisions, recently withdrew from Twitter due to massive hostilities. Last season, Bundesliga referee Felix Zwayer received numerous hate mails after refereeing the game between Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich, and a death threat was circulating online.
Like the Berliner Zwayer, Fröhlich also sees the problem that this means that the recruitment of junior referees falls by the wayside. What you see on Sunday in the district league or in the youth is often a reflection of role models. “Again, I can only wish that the professionals change their perspective from time to time and point out more about fair play and more respectful interaction,” said the referee boss, adding: “If the spiral in the number of referees continues to go down, we will soon many amateur and youth games will have to take place without referees.”
