National player Giulia Gwinn reports on discrimination in youth soccer

National player Giulia Gwinn has reported on her own discriminatory experiences as a youth footballer. "I had to listen to a lot of discriminatory comments, especially from opponents, along the lines of: 'There's a girl playing, what's she doing here? She has no business here," said the FC Bayern Munich right-back at the Julius Hirsch Award ceremony on Sunday.

Her great luck was her coach and teammates, who always protected her, "who always gave me the feeling that I belonged 100 percent," explained Gwinn, who grew up on Lake Constance. She was the only girl among many boys in amateur soccer. For the 25-year-old, it is therefore important that there are people who take responsibility for others and stand up for them.

Clear limits to freedom of expression

Football clubs are places of encounter where "it is also taught that there should be very clear limits to freedom of expression, especially with regard to racism, anti-Semitism, sexism or any form of discrimination", explained the 25-year-old. There are wonderful examples in Germany "where people simply say 'Stop, stop, not like that'".

The German Football Association awards the Julius Hirsch Prize annually to clubs, institutions and individuals who use soccer to promote democracy and human dignity and to combat anti-Semitism, racism and discrimination. This year, the awards went to the Initiative for More Social Responsibility in Popular Football (IVF) in Leipzig, the fan club "Blau-Weiss statt Braun" in Karlsruhe and FC Hertha Bonn 1918. "You are all great role models," praised Gwinn.