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Berlin (AFP)
Bibiana Steinhaus will not give any ball to the Women's World Cup, but she will nevertheless be one of the show's stars.
The 40-year-old is the first and only female referee to officiate in one of the best men's leagues in the world, having been in the German Bundesliga two years ago.
A professional police officer, Steinhaus exudes a calm and good-natured authority on the pitch, which saw him climb into the ranks to become one of the most respected referees in Germany.
Having served in the second division since 2007, she has more than ten years' experience in men's sports and has been decisive in the Bundesliga for two seasons. She is also the only referee to have taken charge of the finals of the World Cup and Olympic Games in women's football.
This month's tournament in France will be his third Women's World Cup and Steinhaus sees the tournament as a highlight of his career.
"Being able to officiate at a World Cup is the most important thing for me, when you lead the teams in the field and listen to the national anthems, you get goose bumps," she told reporters. the affiliate of AFP, SID, before the tournament.
For Steinhaus, the work is finally the same, whether she officiates at the Women's World Cup or in the Bundesliga.
"My personal preparation is the same for every game, I sit with my team and take a good look at the strategies of both teams, and good and intense preparation allows me to react to unpredictable situations in the field."
– & # 39; VAR will work well & # 39; –
Steinhaus's cold head earned her world applause in 2014 when, as the fourth official, she faced a furious tirade from Pep Guardiola, Bayern coach, in a Bundesliga match.
Guardiola was accused of being condescending and aggressive on this occasion, but Steinhaus claimed that men were generally more respectful to her than her male colleagues.
"In general, players tend to be more reserved against a referee," she said in a recent interview with the newspaper Augsburger Allgemeine.
"There are always emotions in football, but emotions do not mean overthrowing or being unfair, it's something I can not accept," she told SID.
In this respect, his style of arbitration is not unlike that of Howard Webb, the former referee of the Premier League with which she has been in a relationship for several years.
Like Steinhaus, Webb is a trained police officer. They know all the problems of the daily life of the police on the ground.
The task of Steinhaus is probably the most difficult. Unlike England, German referees are officially amateurs. If they receive a payment, they do not enjoy the employment benefits of their colleagues in Spain and England.
Steinhaus itself has demanded more professional structures for the German referees.
"A system similar to the one they have in England or Spain could be a good example for us, and I'm sure we'll make great strides very soon in this regard," she said.
In recent years, she has been on the front line of the greatest step forward ever made by referees, as one of the Bundesliga video badistant referees.
The VAR will also be used at the Women's World Cup and, despite the youth problems of the Bundesliga, Steinhaus is a strong advocate of technology.
"It will work well in France, I'm sure," she said.
Others may not be as certain, but in the face of the calm and decisive authority of the pioneering officer, it would be a brave person who disagreed with Bibiana Steinhaus.
? AFP 2019
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