Football is the sport of bullying. At least for men. In almost every game, from amateur to professional, you see seasoned adults shouting, raging and raging because they don’t like the referee’s decisions. Isn’t there any other way? In full-contact sports such as rugby, ice hockey or handball, respectful interaction is also possible.
We were looking for a team that would dare to experiment: play football without complaining, without complaining, grumbling and whining. Does restraint benefit sporting success? Or do referees whistle at you more often if you don’t complain? It’s even possible to stop the complaining reflexes that we’ve trained for years overnight from one day to the next? SV Empor from Berlin was ready to try it out. A family club from Prenzlauer Berg, notoriously fair. The way shouldn’t be far – one would think.
For half a season we followed the first men’s team on their attempt with the camera – through ups and downs. We asked Bundesliga referee Patrick Ittrich how he experiences professional football. And those affected told us what it’s like when outbursts of anger on the pitch turn into bloody violence.
Editorial & editing: Thilo Adam
Camera: Marc Schelper, Claudius Dobs, Nils Samp, Thilo Adam
Head of video department: Max Boenke, Claudia Bracholdt
Animation: Nicolás Pablo Grone
Collaboration: Julius Rübe
A text about the experiment has also appeared in the current issue of ZEIT – here you can read it.
Football is the sport of bullying. At least for men. In almost every game, from amateur to professional, you see seasoned adults shouting, raging and raging because they don’t like the referee’s decisions. Isn’t there any other way? In full-contact sports such as rugby, ice hockey or handball, respectful interaction is also possible.
We were looking for a team that would dare to experiment: play football without complaining, without complaining, grumbling and whining. Does restraint benefit sporting success? Or do referees whistle at you more often if you don’t complain? It’s even possible to stop the complaining reflexes that we’ve trained for years overnight from one day to the next? SV Empor from Berlin was ready to try it out. A family club from Prenzlauer Berg, notoriously fair. The way shouldn’t be far – one would think.
