Iranian TV cancelled the Bundesliga game this weekend because of Women Referee.
Bayern Munich travelled to WWK Arena to play Augsburg in the Bundesliga on Saturday. Leon Goretzka scored an own goal within 45 seconds from the kick off to hand a lead over to the hosts in the game. Kingsley Coman soon equalized the score, before Ji Dong-Won put Augsburg in the lead again.
The French International struck before the half-time once again. Niko Kovac’s men took the lead for the first time through their left-back David Alaba to win the game 3-2 and close down the gap to just two points from Borussia Dortmund who have a game in hand.
When the Bavarians all over the world were enjoying their victory, one country was not happy with the conundrum they faced. The game was supposed to be telecasted at Iran, but it got cancelled at the last moment because of the women referee.
Due to Islamic laws, the country does not broadcast anything that shows the clips of women showing a large amount of skin rather than covering most part of it. As per a report, it is understood that Iran films will be censored when women show their skin and there is a problem with the referee wearing shorts in this case.
Natalie Amiri, Iran Correspondent for German publisher ARD took the matter out to Twitter to convey to the world about the treatment Iranian women are receiving.
Kurzfristig gecancelt! Keine Übertragung des Spiels @FCBayern @FCA_World Augsburg im #Iran Staatsfernsehen. Und wer hat Schuld daran: natürlich wieder Bibi. Bibiana Steinhaus ist eine Frau und trägt kurze Hosen. So etwas soll man nicht im iranischen Staatsfernsehen sehen. pic.twitter.com/lGBrN6SpME
— Natalie Amiri (@NatalieAmiri) February 16, 2019
🇮🇷 According to Bild, Iranian broadcasters canceled the Augsburg vs Bayern game because the match referee Bibiana Steinhaus was female…
Surely this can’t be happening in 2019 🤦♂️ pic.twitter.com/y4wNfQmAZo
— ODDSbible (@ODDSbible) February 17, 2019
It has not happened for the first time as the game between Bayern Munich and Koln in May 2018. There was reportedly random shots on her when she was shown on the camera in the stadium.
Bibiana Steinhaus is the referee to have taken charge of the game. She has already officiated many games before in the German top division.
Having been officiating games since 2007 in German top division, she gained reputation when she was assigned to the 2011 World Cup Final, 2012 Olympic Final, and then 2017 Women Champions League final.
She managed to officiate a Bundesliga game in September 2017 for the first time, thereby inspiring many girls to follow her footsteps.
Speaking to the official DFB Website, Bibiana Steinhaus said “It has always been my dream to be a Bundesliga referee,”
“That this dream will come true naturally fills me with joy. On one hand it is confirmation of my hard work, and on the other hand it is a great incentive to continue to work hard.”
After being named as one of the top referees in German top division, she will be hoping to create many records in the forthcoming years.
