Bundesliga referee believes social media hate hinders recruitment
When I started in 1994, there were about 80,000 referees in Germany. Today, we’re at about half that. You can keep doing the mathematics and wonder how long there will still be amateur football with referees. The development is devastating.
Bundesliga referee Felix Zwayer believes hatred towards match officials on social media is affecting the recruitment of young refereeing talents.
"How are we supposed to attract young people if people go overboard about referees on social media, weekend after weekend without any objectivity? That's not very sexy. Young people are therefore not interested in the job," the 41-year-old said.
"When I started in 1994, there were about 80,000 referees in Germany. Today, we're at about half that. You can keep doing the mathematics and wonder how long there will still be amateur football with referees. The development is devastating."
Zwayer is not active on social media after deliberately deciding to avoid it.
Last season, he received numerous hate messages and a death threat after refereeing the match between Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich.