Bundesliga debut by female coach marred by misogyny

Marie-Louise Eta's historic debut as a head coach in the men's Bundesliga ended in defeat.

While her appointment is a sign of progress, the reactions to it leave no doubt about how much is still to be done.

Bayern Munich sealing a 13th out of the last 14 men's Bundesliga titles was one of the least surprising storylines to come out of German football this weekend.

Another was the misogynistic reaction online to Marie-Louise Eta becoming the first woman to coach a match in the top five European men's leagues.

Eta's Union Berlin side fell to an unfortunate 2-1 defeat to fellow strugglers Wolfsburg but the social media discourse was marred by the usual comments, with Union's social media admins taking several users to task.

The German football association (DFB) , in the form of vice-president Celia Sasic, said this style of community management was "absolutely the right thing".

In an interview with the t-online portal, Sasic added that: "The comments are unacceptable.

They're not directed solely at a single individual, but call into question values that are central to our sport: respect, fairness, and equality."
As has been her way throughout the storm of the last week, Eta tried to keep the focus on the football but did acknowledge the abuse.

"It says more about the people posting it online than about the people being talked about," she said postmatch.

Helen Nkwocha is one of the few women who has had a similar direct experience.

The Black British coach became the first woman to coach a men's European top-division football team in 2021 when she took over as head coach of Tvoroyar Boltfelag of the Faroe Islands.

"As female coaches, especially if we are coaching at a competitive level, we  experience that sort of thing a lot," she told DW.

"In the Faroe Islands, I actually got a racially offensive message and lots about no one knowing where the Faroe Islands is."
Nkwocha said it is important that Union continue to back Eta.

"I'm sure it wouldn't be the first time she would have been faced with adversity," she said.

"I think a club always needs to be smart when they recruit a new coach.

I don't think they should make too big deal out of it and stay focused on the football."
Women's football 'done a disservice'
While Union have celebrated the appointment, both they and Eta have tried to normalize a story that has made headlines across the world.

Another, more subtle, element of the sexism underpinning much of the reaction has been the suggestion that Eta  — hired on a temporary basis until the end of the season — will automatically choose a potential job offer for the men's position above her planned move to Union's women's team.

"I'm not having a discussion that says if she does well she stays with the men, if she does badly she coaches the women.

That does women's football a disservice," said Union president Dirk Zingler after the game.

While men's coaches in women's football are commonplace , a woman taking charge of a high level men's team remains unusual, even if it has happened in lower European leagues .

Professional footballer Robin Afamefuna, captain of fourth-division club Fortuna Köln and a cultural anthropologist whose research focuses on sexism and racism in football, said Eta's example will be important.

Visibility of coaches important for the future
"When we talk about visibility and role models, about what young girls see now, then commitment is very important," Afamefuna told DW.

"Girls see that there is a possibility of doing this job someday.

And that simply wasn't available before."
The DFB has about 4,000 female coaches who hold a C or Pro license and are authorized to coach professional teams.

But despite recent progress, Afamefuna said society has some way to go before these women get the same chances as their male counterparts.

"It's a very deeply rooted, structural, systemic problem that affects women in football," he added.

"We have to talk about the fact that women are disadvantaged in football, and these structures need to be broken down."
While Eta's debut has shown football's patriarchal structure can be challenged, the reaction to it has highlighted the truth that there are plenty of hurdles still to jump.