FRANKFURT (GERMANY), Jan 9 (dpa / EP) –
The German Football Federation (DFB) allows unvaccinated referees to direct Bundesliga matches, according to the official in charge of the referees, Lutz Michael Fröhlich, to the television channel of the newspaper ‘Bild’.
About 90 percent of Bundesliga referees are vaccinated, which, according to Fröhlich, represents a rate similar to that found in clubs.
“The vaccination rate among referees increases, but not under the motto that only the vaccinated can referee matches, because the unvaccinated can also do it, as up to now,” explained the head of the DFB referees.
“We have already had positive cases, but that was at a time when it was not problematic,” continued the former FIFA referee, because then “the referees were quarantined.”
In a dozen cases from the Bundesliga and the second and third divisions, the DFB had to intervene when there were incidents, said Fröhlich, sports director of the DFB Schiri GmbH, which spun off from the DFB on January 1.
This entity is responsible for the approximately 125 referees who whistle in the Bundesliga, in the second and third division, and in the German Cup, organized by the DFB. Forty of them referee in First and Second.
The DFB does not reveal the names of people who test positive for coronavirus, which is done before each shift. “We only announce the line-up when a referee has tested negative, so we have had little to no problems so far,” said Fröhlich.
In his opinion, if someone has coronavirus and cannot arbitrate, they must be dispensed with without making the name public. “You don’t have to put that stamp on everyone: they had coronavirus,” he said.
Clubs handle these situations differently, but most spread the names of the affected players and coaches.