Death threat against Ittrich "disturbs" referee boss
Referee Patrick Ittrich made a death threat against him public after the second division match in Berlin. Referee boss Lutz-Michael Fröhlich now strongly condemns this - and recalls an assault on a referee in Turkey. Hertha BSC is now also speaking out.
DFB referee chief Lutz-Michael Fröhlich has strongly condemned the death threats and insults against referee Patrick Ittrich. "Such behavior is outrageous, disturbing and unacceptable. It harms the referees, but also the sport of soccer as a whole. Some simply don't seem to know any boundaries or inhibitions," Fröhlich is quoted as saying on the German Football Association's website.
Ittrich had reported verbal abuse and a death threat on his Instagram channel after the second division match between Hertha BSC and VfL Osnabrück (0:0). He said he did not want to simply accept such attacks without comment, but rather "make them public in order to raise awareness". According to the video footage, he had shown Berlin's Florian Niederlechner a red card during the match.
"Referees are part of the soccer family"
Hertha also jumped to Ittrich's defense in a post on the X platform. The messages that referee Patrick Ittrich received via social networks from our fan camp "are unacceptable for us as Hertha BSC. We would like to express our full solidarity & support with Mr. Ittrich," the club wrote. "Nobody should be confronted with hate, no matter where."
Fröhlich recalled that a referee had recently been physically attacked in Turkey. "It is incomprehensible and shocking that even such serious attacks do not at least cause some people to pause for thought, let alone rethink," said Fröhlich: "Referees are not fair game, neither in professional nor amateur soccer, neither on the pitch nor off it - not even on social networks. They are human beings, athletes and a natural part of the soccer family."
Ittrich, a full-time police officer, had written on Instagram that charges would be brought against the user. The referee later reported that the author of the death threat had since apologized to him. He also said that he had received numerous emails and messages on social networks in which the insults and threats had been clearly criticized and he had received support: "I'm pleased and it shows me that a clear majority clearly condemns such attacks. In any case, the positive messages I have received far outweigh the negative ones," said Ittrich.
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The death threat against referee Patrick Ittrich has also sparked a response from the Hertha BSC soccer club in Bundesliga 2. They have expressed their solidarity and support for Ittrich, stating that the messages received from their fan camp are unacceptable.
In light of the incidents in Bundesliga 2, DFB referee chief Lutz-Michael Fröhlich emphasized that referees are not fair game, even off the pitch and on social networks. He recalled a recent assault on a referee in Turkey, expressing his disappointment that such serious attacks do not seem to deter some individuals.
Source: www.ntv.de
