The match between TSV Havelse and Hallescher FC on November 6th marked Germany’s first professional men’s football game to have an all-female referee team. Dr. Riem Hussein, who is of Palestinian descent, led the team with Katrin Rafalski and Christina Bieh acting as assistant referees.
In preparation for this historic game, Hussein told the German Football Association that the concentration was very high.
“We just wanted to take the opportunity and show what we can do as referees,” said Hussein.
After the match, Hussein and her team received praise from the Referee Commission Elite’s official observers Thorsten Schriever and Florian Meyer for their successful match.
Hussein has been a FIFA referee since 2009 when she gained her international badge. Since 2015, she has joined Germany’s third division league of men’s football, the 3. Liga, as a referee. This made Hussein the second female match official, after Bibiana Steinhaus, to have led a professional men’s football game in Germany.
Hussein has previously refereed at the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup in France and has officiated the 2021 UEFA Women’s Champions League Final between Chelsea and Barcelona. She has also been awarded Germany’s “female referee of the year” in 2012/13, 2015/16, and 2019/20 seasons.
Outside of football, Hussein works as a pharmacist and received her Ph.D. from the Technical University of Braunschweig in Germany in 2009. Along with her brother Fadi and sister Fadwa, Hussein runs a pharmacy in Bad Harzburg, Germany, where she was born and raised.
“Every day, we have to deal with a lot of pressure as we endeavor to meet the needs and emergencies of our customers,” Hussein told FIFA about being a pharmacist during the COVID-19 pandemic. “My experiences as a referee help me to deal with all of this.”
In a conversation with the German Football Association, Hussein said she hopes this historic match will motivate other female referees to see how far they can make it.