Fortuna Düsseldorf came up with a novel way of teaching a young player a lesson when the German club made the midfielder Kerem Demirbay referee a girls’ football match on Saturday as punishment for making a sexist comment towards a female match official.
The 22-year-old told Bibiana Steinhaus “women have no place in men’s football” after being sent off during a Bundesliga 2 game and was handed a three-match ban by the league, with two further matches suspended.
Demirbay, who is on loan from Hamburg, apologised after the incident, saying: “That comment does not reflect my opinion of women.” However, his club decided to hand down their own appropriate punishment to hammer home the message.
Following the girls’ match the club posted photos on Facebook of Demirbay, apparently wearing designer clothes while clutching a fluorescent green whistle, alongside the caption: “This is what happens when a young player makes a mistake!”
