Overview
- The 57-year-old declined Hamburger SV’s invitation to attend Wednesday’s DFB-Pokal quarterfinal between HSV and Bayern Munich’s women.
- HSV publicly invited him on Instagram to watch the match firsthand, promising a big stage, top-level sport and, as the post noted, beer.
- In a recent podcast he repeated disparaging claims that women’s football “has nothing to do with football,” after earlier remarks including that it gave him “Augenkrebs.”
- Clubs and supporters pushed back, with 1. FC Union posting a highlight reel and a clown-faced image of Basler on International Women’s Day.
- Women’s football in Germany continues to grow, with more than 57,000 attending top fixtures last year and about seven million viewers for the Euro 2025 final on German TV.