Beer shower in 3rd league: Referee Winter receives compensation

Football referee Nicolas Winter was awarded 1,500 euros in compensation for a beer shower by a spectator. This ruling was made in a civil case by the Zwickau Regional Court in a single judge procedure. He was also awarded a proportionate share of his legal costs. Winter had demanded 25,000 euros in compensation for pain and suffering. The ruling can be appealed against at the Dresden Higher Regional Court.

On April 23, 2023, on the way to halftime during the third division match between FSV Zwickau and Rot-Weiss Essen, Winter had a mug of beer thrown in his face by an angry Zwickau spectator, who was also a sponsor of the club at the time. The referee, who comes from Hagenbach, then called off the match, which was subsequently awarded in Essen’s favor by the DFB sports court.

Winter sued the viewer in civil court for a serious infringement of his constitutionally protected general right of personality. The judge agreed. However, the court rejected the compensation demanded by Winter as being significantly excessive, citing comparable cases in which compensation for pain and suffering is awarded between 800 and 1,500 euros.