The duel between Italy and England will not only be something special for the teams: For the first time, a woman is commenting on the final of an EM on public radio for ARD. There is praise from team boss Steffen Simon.
It’s an unfamiliar role for Julia Metzner. The 47-year-old journalist suddenly has to give answers in interviews instead of asking the questions herself. The reason for this role change is her premiere: On Sunday, Metzner will be the first woman to comment on the final of a major tournament on the radio at the European Football Championship for ARD. So far, there has only been a final commentator at the World Cup or EM in Germany on private radio.
Julia Metzner is not entirely sure of the interest
She is not entirely sure of the sudden interest in her person. “I would prefer if less attention was paid to gender,” said the radio reporter for the German press agency. “I hope that we won’t have to have such discussions at the next big tournament.”
The fact that female journalists are not yet a matter of course in men’s football was recently shown when she said goodbye to Sabine Töpperwien, the great champion. Metzner owes her farewell to retirement and her statements about discrimination to some extent for her premiere at the European Championship finals in London. Even if Metzner himself said about her European Championship as one of two women in the European Championship team of the ARD radio: “I assume that I’m there because I perform well and not because I’m a woman. ”
Sabine Töpperwien was “overwhelmed and speechless”
When it came to the question of the endgame, however, gender played a decisive role. After all, the public broadcaster proudly announced in January: “The finals at the EURO in summer 2021 and the 2022 World Cup will be commented on by reporters for the first time on the ARD radio.” This should “underline the wish of the ARD to continue promoting women in sports journalism,” it said in a message. Töpperwien was also surprised by the sudden decision. “I am overwhelmed and speechless,” she said.
WDR program director Valerie Weber admitted: “With her quote that she will probably never see a woman commenting on a World Cup in the final, she got the ball rolling for us bosses.” It is still open who will comment on the final in Qatar next winter. Metzner is likely to be one of the favorites. As a radio journalist, she has been reporting on the Bundesliga for many years, first on NDR and now on SWR. Metzner is doing “a great job” in the Bundesliga conference, said ARD team boss Steffen Simon: “She deserves this final.”
And the final reporter is of course happy. “I believe that it is gender-independent that it is a huge milestone in any career for sports journalists to be able to comment on or report on a final at such a major sporting event, as it is actually called on the radio.”
The quota regulation supports them, albeit with restrictions. “It’s still necessary, that’s the sad thing,” said the radio journalist. “I resisted quotas for a long time because I thought it was grist to the mill of those who say: Now we have our quota women.” Her wish for the time after the premiere of the final is therefore: “The future must be that we no longer talk about it.”
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
