The German referee Pascal Kaiser has suffered a second attack at his home in Cologne after his marriage proposal to his partner during a Bundesliga match went viral.
The events occurred days after Kaiser proposed on the lawn of the RheinEnergieStadion, a gesture that was applauded by part of the public but also generated a wave of hate messages on social networks. According to the information published, after his personal address was leaked, the referee was assaulted in the garden of his home on February 7, suffering injuries to an eye.
On February 9, L'Equipe reports that a second assault occurred in front of his home, where he received blows to the face and torso, again at his house. Kaiser was under police surveillance, but it took them half an hour to arrive. The authorities are investigating the facts and do not rule out a homophobic motivation, given the context of previous threats and the referee's public exposure after his gesture.
The case has revived the debate on LGTBIfobia in professional sports and the need to strengthen the protection of visible members of the community in the European football arena.