Bundesliga Honors Amateur Referees With Special Jersey

Bundesliga referee Daniel Siebert and his team wore a special jersey in Saturday's Bundesliga match between Borussia Dortmund and Mainz 05 to honor the work of 63 amateur referees.

The special jersey is part of the "Thank You Referee" initiative of German Football Association (DFB to acknowledge the commitment of the more than 75,000 referees in German amateur football. After many regional honors and awards, which initially took place at county and state level, the 63 state winners were honored at the DFB level.

Bundesliga Referee Wears Special Shirt to Honor 63 Amateur Referees

Based on the standard light blue Adidas referee jersey, the special shirt worn by referee Daniel Siebert and his team boasts the names of the 63 referees.

"In Germany, the word 'thank you' is said far too rarely - but we want to do that tonight," said DFB Vice President Ronny Zimmermann, as he stepped in front of the many referees at the gala in Dortmund. 63 referees were invited to the ceremony, three from each state association. They are this year's prize winners of the "Thank you Schiri" campaign, which is now organized annually at district, district and association level.

"Signal this action is the appreciation for amateur umpires in Germany," said Helmut Geyer, chairman of the DFB referee commission amateurs. "We want to express that we are really satisfied with the work of the referees in Germany - the winners in Dortmund are representative of the many thousands of referees who make themselves available to football every week," he added.

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