By Enitan Abdultawab
Union Berlin has condemned viral sexist abuse of Marie-Louise Eta, who was recently unveiled as the German club’s new manager.
The club’s sports director, Horst Heldt, told journalists that he sees the sexist abuse as insane, as several netizens took to social media to comment on the development.
Heldt said, “It’s just embarrassing. I’ve noticed it, but I also refuse to read or even just expose myself to that kind of nonsense because for me this is about quality – leadership quality.
“We’re talking about a highly competent leader here, and you can be sure that everyone here at Union, whether in the stands or within the club itself, stands 100% behind this decision and will do everything in their power to ensure that this doesn’t lead to any further discussion in the future.”
According to Heldt, Eta is “getting a handle on things very, very quickly” and will lead her first training session on Tuesday.
“She had a great run with the U19s team, so she’s already fulfilled a role as head coach and is experienced,” he said.
“Another advantage is that we all know her and she knows us. She doesn’t need to be shown the ropes here – she knows it all. She knows the stadium, the atmosphere, the people and, above all, the players.”
Heldt also said that the club has enough confidence in her and it’s ready to commit the team to her management.
“We have 100% confidence in Loui – complete conviction. I find it insane that we have to deal with this in this day and age,” he said.
Eta took charge of Union Berlin, who are 11th in the 18-team Bundesliga, and are 11 points clear of the automatic relegation zone with five matches remaining but have won only twice in 14 league outings in 2026.
