Bibiana Steinhaus became the Bundesliga’s first female referee, taking charge of Hertha Berlin’s draw against Werder Bremen.
She officiated Bayern Munich’s first-round DFB Pokal defeat of Chemnitzer in August, the Women’s Champions League final earlier this year.
Before becoming a referee like her father, Steinhaus played as a footballer for SV Bad Lauterberg.
Steinhaus became a referee of the club MTV Engelbostel-Schulenburg, and began officiating on the DFB level in 1999, refereeing matches in the Frauen-Bundesliga.
In 2001, she then began to officiate in the Regionalliga. In 2003, she was the main referee for the 2003 DFB-Pokal der Frauen Final between FFC Frankfurt and FCR 2001 Duisburg.
She began refereeing in the men’s Bundesliga in 2007, making her the first female referee in German professional football. She was also selected for the 2008 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup, UEFA Women’s Euro 2009, and 2010 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup.
She was one of the sixteen referees chosen for the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup, where she officiated two group stage matches before she was selected to officiate the final between Japan and the United States. She was selected to officiate the women’s football gold medal match at the 2012 Summer Olympics, also between Japan and the United States.
The 38-year-old, who is also a police officer, joined Germany’s leading division in May following six years in the second tier.
