Germany: Pierluigi Collina (FIFA) congratulates two referees for their reactions to racism

"With your calm, determined and principled response to the racist insults, you sent a clear and unambiguous message: discrimination and hatred have absolutely no place in football," was the message sent by Pierluigi Collina (ITA), chairman of the FIFA Referees Committee, to two German referees, Max Burda and Cristian Ballweg, as reported by the German Football Association (DFB) on 25/08/2025.

During two matches in the first round of the DFB-Pokal, 1. FC Lokomotive Leipzig - FC Schalke 04, (0-1 on 17/08/2025) refereed by Max Burda, and RSV Eintracht 1949 Stahnsdorf - 1. FC Kaiserslautern (0-7 on 17/08/2025) in Potsdam, refereed by Cristian Ballweg, "racist chants were directed at players from the crowd. In both matches, the referees activated the first stage of the three-step plan for discriminatory incidents: they interrupted the match, made an announcement over the stadium loudspeaker and supported the players who had been targeted," explained the DFB.

"You have set an important example for referees around the world and made a significant contribution to football's collective fight…