this post was submitted on 10 Feb 2026
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71
Germany: Queer referee attacked after viral proposal (www.dw.com)
submitted 1 day ago by Pip@feddit.org to c/europe@feddit.org
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[–] nyankas@lemmy.world 19 points 22 hours ago* (last edited 22 hours ago) (2 children)

Although homophobia is definitely a plausible motive here, it's important to know that there are multiple accusations of theft and grifting against this guy.

For example, he managed someone else’s bar, threw his birthday party there, and then vanished, leaving the owner with a bill of almost €6,000. He couldn't even be found by the police. He also never repaid a loan of €3,500 to someone else. By now, about 20 people claim to have been scammed by him. After prosecutors were unable to locate him for quite a while, the investigation is currently ongoing.

He also seems to be quite manipulative, complaining to his followers about not being chosen as a referee for games because of his activism, while actually just not showing up to mandatory training and therefore being unqualified.

(Source; unfortunately German and paywalled)

So, while homophobia might be the reason for this attack, he might also have been beaten up by a victim of his alleged crimes.

[–] birdwing@lemmy.blahaj.zone -2 points 1 hour ago* (last edited 1 hour ago) (1 children)

Bullshit, they'd then been attacked earlier if homophobia weren't the motive. And this expressly happened AFTER proposal.

Homophobia is never to be tolerated. Fuck off with that apologia.

[–] Gladaed@feddit.org 1 points 12 minutes ago

Literally isn't apologetic. Just highlights other plausible motives. Their coming out/proposal may just have made it easier to find their whereabouts.

[–] rumschlumpel@feddit.org 6 points 20 hours ago* (last edited 20 hours ago) (1 children)

Here is a source (in German) that's currently not paywalled. They don't mention that the police was looking for him, though, it's just an investigation - he even called the police on the day he was attacked because he received threats (the police thought there was no concrete danger and left again).

The FAZ article does add that the bar owner published his address and invited people to "pay him a visit". That does make it seem more likely that the attack was about the alleged fraud instead of his gayness, though it could always be both.

[–] nyankas@lemmy.world 8 points 20 hours ago* (last edited 20 hours ago)

Thanks for the additional information!

Here's the quote from the paywalled article I was referring to:

Bethke hat im Herbst 2024 Anzeige gegen Pascal K. erstattet. In Summe gehe es, andere Forderungen wegen ausstehender Rechnungen in der Bar eingerechnet, um knapp 10 000 Euro. Die Staatsanwaltschaft hat Ermittlungen eingeleitet. Aber auch die Behörden konnten Pascal K. nicht finden. Zwischenzeitlich hat die Staatsanwaltschaft Köln sogar nach ihm gesucht und das Ermittlungsverfahren dafür vorübergehend ausgesetzt, weil er an seiner Meldeadresse nicht gelebt habe, so ein Sprecher. Inzwischen laufen die Ermittlungen wieder.

Translation:

Bethke filed a criminal complaint against Pascal K. in the fall of 2024. Including other claims for outstanding bills at the bar, the total amount is just under 10,000 euros. The public prosecutor's office has launched an investigation. However, the authorities were also unable to locate Pascal K. According to a spokesperson, the Cologne public prosecutor's office even searched for him and temporarily suspended the investigation because he was not living at his registered address. The investigation has since resumed.

There has also been another case where there was a civil arrest warrant against K., though that isn't a police matter in Germany:

Oliver Strank sagt, seit Oktober 2023 bestehe in der Sache ein Vollstreckungstitel, aber K. sei nicht greifbar gewesen. Im Sommer 2024 hat Strank sogar einen zivilrechtlichen Haftbefehl gegen K. erwirkt. Doch die zuständige Gerichtsvollzieherin, die diesen Haftbefehl vollstrecken müsste, habe den Gesuchten nie antreffen können, sagt Strank.

Translation:

Oliver Strank says that there has been an enforcement order in the matter since October 2023, but K. could not be located. In the summer of 2024, Strank even obtained a civil arrest warrant for K. However, Strank says the responsible bailiff, who would have to execute this arrest warrant, was never able to find the wanted person.

[–] Bababasti@feddit.org 23 points 23 hours ago (2 children)

though the motive is still unclear.

Hmmm, what could it be...?

[–] Lumidaub@feddit.org 28 points 23 hours ago (2 children)

Law enforcement is (should be) held to higher standards in determining motive. They need to show evidence, not simply go on what's likely. As long as there is no direct link between the proposal and the attack, it's circumstantial and "unclear", even if common sense says "well duh".

[–] birdwing@lemmy.blahaj.zone 1 points 1 hour ago

The higher standard is "support LGBTQ+".

[–] fonix232@fedia.io 7 points 22 hours ago

This.

And it's not just law enforcement, but also the media - basically anyone who has any semblance of authority therefore their words have more power than your average person.

Let's play the hypothesis game. Let's presume that the referee wasn't attacked because he was gay while in public, but rather, someone he had beef with (even unknowingly) saw him on TV, followed him and beat him up. Then once he's caught he could sue the police and the media who published that he beat the referee because he was gay, which would be slander...

I know for many it's weird that criminals get to have rights, but over the past ~250 years we've refined a system that mostly works AND helps the police apprehend criminals at a much higher rate. Sorry fellas but your need to know comes last, the priority is on catching the person or people who did this and serving justice.

[–] Goldholz@lemmy.blahaj.zone -2 points 23 hours ago (1 children)

Is a mystery why the openly queer guy got attacked right after showing queer love. Truuuueeellyy a mistery /s

[–] ceiphas@feddit.org 2 points 55 minutes ago

Please read the sources in the other posts...

[–] Lumidaub@feddit.org 9 points 23 hours ago (1 children)

In fucking COLOGNE of all places? Wtf?!

[–] Goldholz@lemmy.blahaj.zone 10 points 23 hours ago

Despite it being the most gay and open city. Still 10% vote Nazis. And the "football fans" can come from everywhere

[–] Goldholz@lemmy.blahaj.zone 4 points 23 hours ago (1 children)

"Motivation Unclear" YEAH HMMM I WONDER WHY THE GAY GUY GOT ATTACKED AFTER HE DID GAY STUFF!?

And watch it german media nore the government will say ANYTHING about it. Maybe the media in a side sentence. But besides that NOTHING!

"Hitler attacked poland, build concentration camps and goes strongly agenst jews. His motivation is unclear"

[–] Peter1986C@piefed.europe.pub 3 points 16 hours ago

Please check the other posts in this thread for the extra context needed. There is more about the guy than being gay.