German football referee Pascal Kaiser was assaulted at his home, just a week after proposing to his boyfriend on the pitch.

Kaiser proposed to his partner, Moritz, at Cologne’s RheinEnergieStadion in front of almost 50,000 spectators ahead of a match between FC Köln and VfL Wolfsburg. 

The proposal was widely shared online, sadly leading Kaiser to receive threats. French newspaper L’Équipe reported that some of these threats referenced his home address, which Kaiser reported to police, who advised there was no immediate threat. 

However, just 20 minutes after speaking with police, while in his garden smoking, three men attacked Kaiser, leaving him with an injury to his right eye. 

Carla Antonelli, Spain’s first openly transgender senator, took to Instagram to share an image of Kaiser’s injured face. 

The LGBTQ+ activist’s captioned read: “Terrible message, if you make yourself visible we’ll put you in the closet: Referee Pascal Kaiser, who proposed to his partner before the Cologne-Wolfsburg match, was assaulted at his home. It is known that prior to the assault, the address of Pascal Kaiser’s house had leaked on social media and received direct threats. Police intervened after the attack and Pascal Kaiser is now in a safe place under police protection.”

FC Köln has since released a statement which read: “FC Köln condemns the attack on Pascal Kaiser and wishes him a speedy recovery!

“The sheer hatred behind this cowardly attack confirms in a horrific way just how important our commitment as the FC family is against any form of violence.

“As 1. FC Köln, we stand by our conviction for acceptance, diversity, and equality — in sport and in society, on the pitch and in everyday life.

“LIVE THE WAY YOU ARE!”

Kaiser, who came out as bisexual in 2021, making him one of a few openly LGBTQ+ referees in professional football, used the proposal to emphasise the need for queer visibility in football. 

The self-proclaimed LGBTQ+ activist said during the proposal that he wanted people to see “a man loving a man in football”.

Kaiser previously told German press: “Since coming out, I’ve been much more open on the pitch. I don’t hide anything anymore, and that makes me stronger, not weaker. We have to dare to be fully present.”

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