Leipzig post about Union coach Eta meets with criticism

RB Leipzig caused a stir with a post on social media about soccer coach Marie-Louise Eta ahead of the Bundesliga home game against 1. FC Union Berlin. In response to a post by the team from Köpenick, who provided tips for visiting the stadium of their unloved rivals with the words "Well, it's not Leipzig itself - it's a nice city ...", the Saxons responded with pictures showing Eta with RB players and former coach Marco Rose: "Your head coach didn't just like the city ..." was the caption above the post on X.

RB Leipzig refers to Eta post with pictures

In the comment columns, some users accused the Leipzigers of sexism. The club rejected this. "Sexism has no place at RB Leipzig. We are very much looking forward to the return of Marie-Louise Eta, who was a guest at RB Leipzig in 2022 and subsequently documented her time at the club in a photo collage on social media," RB Leipzig announced in response to an inquiry and explained: "We have now published this collage again - with a reference to her wonderful time in Leipzig and in response to a previous Union post." Eta had published the pictures on January 1, 2023 in her annual review on Instagram.

The Saxon Bundesliga club also pointed out that women hold various management positions at the club. Union did not wish to comment on RB Leipzig's X post. The two teams will meet in Leipzig on Friday (20:30/Sky). Union and RB have had a hearty dislike of each other for years.

As part of her pro license training, Eta had visited RB at the end of 2022 and looked over the shoulder of then coach Rose. "For five days, she immersed herself in everyday training, followed processes at close quarters and exchanged ideas with Dominik Szoboszlai and Emil Forsberg, among others," according to the Leipzig club's website. Eta's husband Benjamin works as coach of Leipzig's U20 women's team.

Sexist comments after Eta's promotion

Since her historic promotion to become the first female head coach in the men's Bundesliga, Eta has been confronted with sexist comments online. Union Berlin's managing director of professional soccer, Horst Heldt, sharply criticized the hostility. The 34-year-old herself explained: "It doesn't bother me, it says more about those who post it online than about those who are the subject of the comments."