Eta’s role as the first female manager of a men’s team was followed by derogatory and sexist comments on social media.By Reuters and The Associated PressPublished On 14 Apr 202614 Apr 2026Union Berlin has condemned the sexist online abuse directed at Marie-Louise Eta after she became the first woman to take charge of a men’s Bundesliga team.Eta was appointed interim head coach on Saturday for the remainder of the season following the dismissal of Steffen Baumgart and will oversee the men’s first team through the end of the campaign before moving to the club’s women’s side.Her appointment, however, has been followed by derogatory and sexist comments on social media.The club has pushed back online and in person.“We have 100 percent confidence in Loui, with complete conviction. I find it crazy that we have to deal with this in this day and age, that we have to justify ourselves,” Union’s director of men’s professional football, Horst Heldt, said.Communications director Christian Arbeit said Eta just wanted to coach.“Marie-Louise Eta has a very pragmatic approach to all of its,” he said.“She’s very conscious that it’s something special, but for her, football is in the foreground. She wants to work with the team, and she wants to be on the field.”Responding to a comment expressing concern about the treatment of Eta and a potential sexist backlash if she loses a game, the club posted: “The Union family has her back.”“With all due respect, that’s sexism,” Union’s account on X responded to a post arguing that players would not take a woman’s instructions about tactics seriously.It branded another comment “sexist” for claiming that a male coach who lost to her would lose face. Advertisement The decision to appoint Eta won praise from B …
