German club Union Berlin has condemned the sexist and derogatory online abuse directed at Marie-Louise Eta after she was appointed interim head coach of the men's Bundesliga team, making her the first woman to take charge in the club's history. Eta will oversee the men's first team for the remainder of the season following the dismissal of Steffen Baumgart, before moving to the club's women's side as planned.
However, her appointment has sparked a wave of derogatory and sexist comments on social media. The club has pushed back against this both online and in person. Horst Heldt, Union's director of men's professional football, stated: "We have 100 percent confidence in Loui, with complete conviction. I find it crazy that we have to deal with this in this day and age, that we have to justify ourselves."
Communications director Christian Arbeit emphasized that Eta simply wants to coach: "Marie-Louise Eta has a very pragmatic approach to all of it. She's very conscious that it's something special, but for her, football is in the foreground. She wants to work with the team, and she wants to be on the field." In response to a comment expressing concern about the treatment of Eta and potential sexist backlash if she loses a game, the club posted: "The Union family has her back."
The club's account on X (formerly Twitter) responded to a post arguing that players would not take a woman's tactical instructions seriously by stating: "With all due respect, that's sexism." Another comment claiming a male coach would lose face if defeated by her was branded "sexist." The decision to appoint Eta won praise from Berlin's Mayor Kai Wegner, who called it "a strong signal for professional football and for women in elite-level sports," but he misspelled her name in the process. The club corrected him, and Wegner replied: "We were so overwhelmed."
Eta has been named interim coach for the last five games of the season as Union aim to secure their Bundesliga spot for next season. Previously, the club said she would take over as head coach of the women's team next season, but Heldt did not rule out her continuing with the men's team after this season: "I think at the moment it wouldn't make sense to rule anything out beyond that." The club stated it would continue to protect staff from harassment, with Heldt adding they would do everything possible to ensure the debate does not continue. Union are 11th in the Bundesliga standings and host relegation-threatened Wolfsburg on Saturday.
Source: www.aljazeera.com