Every four years, the general assembly of Berlin referees takes place before the regular BFV Association Day, at which motions are voted on and a new committee is elected. This year, 239 referees took part in the general assembly in Berlin-Schöneberg.

Alexander Molzahn opened the general assembly at around 6:10 pm and welcomed all the referees present as well as the guests and honorary members, expressing his delight at the high number of participants who wanted to exercise their right to vote.

The evening was led by Dr. Friedrich Hestermann, member of the referee disciplinary commission, together with Carsten Voss as election officer, who was actively supported by the junior performance squad as election assistants.

Honors and greetings

The meeting began with a minute's silence in memory of the 26 referees who had passed away during the past legislative period.

Further words of welcome were then given by BFV President Bernd Schultz. He thanked the community for their tireless efforts on the sports fields over the past four years and was pleased with the positive trend in the latest figures for active referees.

Luis Bass was then honored with the golden whistle, which will be reported on separately. The golden whistle was presented by Alexander Molzahn and Bernd Schultz.

Statement of accounts and discharge of the SRA

The statement of accounts and questions on this and the work of the referee committee in the previous term were important points before the discharge of the committee.

At this year's plenary meeting, the focus was on the referee committee's classification decisions in the performance area, which were discussed at length. There were further questions regarding the promotion and support of grassroots referees with a view to the changes in the district league as well as questions regarding a media report.

At the end of the discussions, the referee committee was discharged by those present.

Motions regarding the referee regulations and other motions

Amendments to the referee regulations were also submitted at this general meeting. The "Referee Regulations" working group had dealt with this in advance. Jonas Tylewski, Chairman of the Referee Disciplinary Commission, presented the results of the working group.

The new referee regulations should provide for more control on the one hand and, on the other hand, offer the committee more flexibility to react to developments in soccer between two general assemblies. After a brief discussion, the motion was adopted by a large majority.

The motion by the Treptow teaching community was also adopted. It called for the referee committee to submit a motion to the association congress to make it mandatory for referees to be provided with refreshments.

A further motion from the Marzahn teaching community was withdrawn by the proposer.

Election of the chairperson and other members

For the first time in more than 20 years, those present were able to choose between two candidates for the chairmanship of the SRA.

Alexander Molzahn and David Dahlhaus had already declared in writing that they would stand for election as Chairman.

Both candidates presented their programs for the next four years and were available to answer questions from those eligible to vote.

In a secret ballot, David Dahlhaus received 151 votes and Alexander Molzahn 76 votes. With four invalid votes and two abstentions, David Dahlhaus was able to achieve a majority and was elected as the new Chairman of the Referees' Committee. David Dahlhaus thanked all those present for their constructive feedback and trust, as well as the previous committee under Alexander Molzahn for their work over the past four years.

At the suggestion of the new chairman, the other members of the referees' committee were elected by block vote. These are Thorsten Lange, Frederic Schecker, Philipp Vierock, Kevin Sonder, David Heider and Annett Unterbeck.

Further elections

Finally, the members of the referee disciplinary committee and the representatives before the sports court were elected.

While the existing referee disciplinary committee was confirmed for a further term of office, there were a few changes to the representatives.

All persons are always elected subject to the approval of the clubs at the BFV Association Day.

Finally, a big thank you to:

• Dr. Friedrich Hestermann as chairman of the meeting

• Carsten Voss as election manager

• the junior performance squad as election assistants and the work in the checkroom

• Wolfgang Schlicht, Peter Mideraczyk and Nico Leheis for their work on the registration desk

• Fabian Burmeister and Vincent Pell as "sound technicians"

• as well as the BFV main office for the preparation and implementation of the General Assembly