"Someone has to wash the jerseys"
On April 11, 2026, Union Berlin announced the appointment of Marie-Louise Eta as head coach of its men’s team. Within hours, the club’s social media was flooded with comments. No tactical analysis, no questions about her playing system. Just jokes and insults. And among them, this gem: “Someone’s got to wash the jerseys.”
A woman has just reached an unprecedented professional milestone in the history of European soccer. And the collective knee-jerk reaction of a portion of the public is to send her back to the laundry. There was no mention of sports criticism or any argument, just a conditioned, rapid, and almost mechanical reflex.
A career that leaves no room for doubt
Marie-Louise Eta didn’t end up on that bench by chance or because of a quota. A midfielder with a solid track record, she notably won the Champions League in 2010 with 1. FFC Turbine Potsdam. Her playing career ended at age 26, an early, conscious transition toward coaching from the very start. In 2023, she joined the staff of Union Berlin’s men’s first team as an assistant coach, becoming the first woman to hold that role at a club competing in the Champions League.
When Steffen Baumgart was fired in mid-April, after one defeat too many, the management chose Eta to lead the final five games of the season. The club’s sporting director, Horst Heldt, made it clear: this was not a symbolic gesture. It was a sporting decision. She knew the club, the players, and the project; she had already coached the U19s. And she proved herself.
So here she is, the first woman to lead a men’s team in one of Europe’s five major leagues, the Bundesliga, the Premier League, La Liga, Serie A, and Ligue 1. An absolute first.
The flood of reactions in the virtual stands
Union Berlin’s social media accounts were flooded. Not by fans worried about the team’s survival. But by strangers with no connection to the club who felt they had a say in who was qualified to coach it. Sexist comments piled up to the point of becoming harassment, as documented by several sports media outlets in the days following the appointment.
Horst Heldt stepped in and called these reactions “delusional” and “embarrassing.” His statement, published by Goal.com, is worth quoting in full: “It’s absurd that we still have to deal with this kind of reaction today. We’re dealing with a highly competent leader, and everyone at Union supports this decision 100%.”
Eta, for her part, responded at a press conference with surgical composure: “I know there have been hateful comments, but I haven’t seen many myself. I simply didn’t have the time. That often says more about those who post these messages than about the people they’re targeting.” A clean, flawless takedown.
Female competence, eternally on probation
What happened surrounding her appointment follows a familiar pattern. As soon as a woman holds a position of authority in a predominantly male space, her legitimacy is immediately called into question. Not her qualifications or her results, but her gender.
The question posed by thousands of comments isn’t “is she up to the task?” It is, more deeply: “Does she have the right to be there?” We’re not discussing soccer but territory. We’re redrawing the boundaries of who can exercise authority over men, and we use jokes, irony, and memes to do so without having to confront it head-on.
Eta herself refuses to take on the role of standard-bearer that people would like to pin on her. In an interview with the newspaper Bild, she said: “For me, it was never about strengthening the role of women. I’ve always wanted to convince people through my achievements.” Translation: she isn’t there to prove anything. She’s there to coach.
Another incident in Leipzig
During preparations for the match against RB Leipzig, another incident erupted. The club posted a message on its social media referencing a training camp Eta had attended in Leipzig in 2022: humorous tone, unclear intent. Some fans perceived it as condescending. Accusations of sexism flooded the comments section, as documented by Goal.com. Leipzig responded by defending itself, citing its female executives.
What stands out in this response, as usual, is the reflex: faced with an accusation of sexism, the club seeks to prove it isn’t sexist rather than examining what caused this reaction. The focus shifts. The conversation centers on the club’s intent, rather than what it reveals about women’s place in the symbolic realm of soccer.
On May 10, the results speak for themselves
After two losses against Wolfsburg and Leipzig, followed by a hard-fought 2-2 draw against Cologne after coming back from a two-goal deficit, Union Berlin won 3-1 in Mainz on May 10, during the 33rd matchday of the Bundesliga. Score reported by L'Equipe. Eta thus became the first female coach in history to win a match in one of Europe’s top five men’s leagues. The club climbs to 12th place, and survival is looking likely.
While some were still talking about laundry, she was preparing training sessions.
What 2026 Really Reveals
The sexism that greeted Eta’s appointment did not come from professional soccer. Nor from the players. Nor from the experts. It came from the “armchair coaches”, those men who have no responsibility in the sport but who feel entitled to define who can be part of it. Vincent Kompany, coach of Bayern Munich, hailed the appointment as “a key moment.” Those who make their living from soccer have understood. The others preferred to sneer.
What this says about gender in 2026 is crystal clear, however. Female authority over male bodies remains culturally unpalatable to a segment of the public. It is tolerated in invisible, administrative, or logistical roles. It is poorly tolerated when she exercises it standing up, on the sidelines, facing a camera.
The mechanism is well-established: we don’t say “she’s incompetent.” We say “she washes the jerseys.” The form changes. The substance, however, remains intact. Stripped of her competence, relegated to a service role, even at the top.
Eta won her match. She delivered where it counts, on the scoreboard, not on social media. And no one can take that away from her. Yes, there is still a long way to go. Yes, the fact that her appointment is still an absolute first in 2026 says something about the state of professional soccer. But something has shifted. The players followed suit. The club stood firm. A respected coach like Kompany publicly praised the moment. We are moving forward.
To Marie-Louise Eta, we simply wish a wonderful career. A long, fulfilling one and as ordinary as possible.
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