Steinhaus enters football history

CAIRO - 10 September 2017: German female referee Bibiana Steinhaus entered football history when she took charge of the German League (Bundesliga) clash between Werder Bremen and Hertha Berlin at Olympiastadion in Berlin on Sunday. The match ended 1-1 and she became the first female referee to referee a game in Europe’s top leagues.

“The Hannover-born policewoman had a firm hand on proceedings throughout, handing out just a single yellow card in the capital. She also distinguished herself with a fantastic decision to allow an advantage to be played after a foul on the hosts' Vladimir Darida, from which Mathew Leckie opened the scoring,” Bundesliga’s official website commented on Steinhaus’s performance in her first game.

Steinhaus, 38, has refereed in many top women’s competition like Women's World Cup and Champions League finals, and she officiated as a fourth referee at Bundesliga games since 2007.

Steinhaus is the partner of former English referee Howard Webb. He refereed the 2010 World Cup final when Spain defeated the Netherlands.

Hertha Berlin showed their support for the female referee before the game when they offered 500 half-priced tickets to women to witness this historic moment.