German referee stable after suicide bid
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Shanghai Daily, November 21, 2011
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Press speaker Stephan Brause of the German Football Association and Theo Zwanziger, president of the German Football Association attend the press conference at RheinEnergieStadion on November 19, 2011 in Cologne, Germany. |
A German Bundesliga referee was found bleeding in his hotel bathtub following an apparent suicide attempt hours before he was due to take charge of Saturday's game between FC Cologne and Mainz.
The game was called off after Babak Rafati was found in his hotel room earlier on Saturday "after sustaining injuries with no sign of any involvement by a third party," Cologne police spokesman Andre Fassbender said. "It certainly looks like (a suicide attempt), yes."
German Football Federation (DFB) President Theo Zwanziger said Rafati's condition was stable but that he would need "intensive treatment" and be hospitalized for some time.
Zwanziger said the referee's three assistants told him that they had tried unsuccessfully to reach Rafati by phone two hours before kickoff to prepare for the match. When he didn't respond to knocks on his door, they got hotel staff to open the door.
Zwanziger said Rafati was "lying in the bathtub and a lot of blood could be seen."
There was no immediate word on what might have led to the apparent suicide attempt, and Zwanziger said he could not give information on the reasons behind it.
"I can only tell you the pressure on our referees is tremendously high for various reasons," Zwanziger said.
The 41-year-old Rafati, a banker of Iranian descent, has been a referee for the DFB since 1997 and a top-division referee since 2005.
Coaches and players expressed shock at the news.
"It's an incident to think about because you see that people in general - and especially referees - are under tremendous pressure," said Bayern Munich coach Jupp Heynckes.
Schalke player Lewis Holtby said he got "goosebumps" when he heard the news.
On the pitch, Borussia Dortmund opened up the title race on Saturday by snatching a 1-0 victory at leader Bayern with a goal from 19-year-old Mario Goetze.
Germany international Goetze scored midway through the second half to earn champion Dortmund its sixth win in seven league games and lift it to second place on 26 points, two behind Bayern.
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