Podcast „On the Twelve – The Conflict and Dispute Podcast“ (#9)

Violence in German amateur football

How stressed are referees in German amateur football?

Is violence really on the rise in German amateur football - and how are referees faring? In the new episode of "Auf die Zwölf" we discuss exactly that.

At the end of 2019, even before the news about the coronavirus spread, the headlines about increasing violence in German amateur football were multiplying. Physical violence is now increasingly being documented, with the referees' association in Berlin, for example, going on strike to say that things "can't go on like this".

Amateur football and violence

In the podcast "Auf die Zwölf", Sascha Weigel and Peter Hense talk to criminologist Dr Thaya Vester, who has been researching the topic for years and A long-term study on experiences of violence was recently of arbitrators has concluded.

There is no patent remedy for violence in amateur football. But one fact is that professional players are not fully aware of their role as role models. Dr Thaya Vester

In her study, she surveyed a representative sample of referees from the Baden-Württemberg amateur league over a period of years. She wanted to know how they felt about safety. The findings are astonishing and in no way correspond to the impression given by the daily newspaper.

How does that fit together? And what do the referees actually say about it? That's exactly what we discuss in the new episode of "Auf die Zwölf". We've asked the expert Dr Thaya Vester into the episode.

Since the publication of her book "Zielscheibe Schiedsrichter" (2013), the football enthusiast and former active footballer herself has been recognised as an expert in this field, having conducted two extensive studies with qualitative interviews over a period of ten years, from which she was able to derive key insights into the problem. The DFB regularly draws on Dr Vester's expertise and is currently consulting her on violence prevention projects.