Bernd Stumpf

Bernd Stumpf (* 16. June 1940 in Jena) is a football referee from Jena who served as a match official in the first division DDR-Oberliga of the former East Germany. He also worked as a FIFA referee and called 6 European Cup matches.

Stumpf was infamous for his role as the referee who manipulated the outcome of the 22 March 1986 championship match between Dynamo Berlin and Lokomotive Leipzig which ended in a 1:1 draw that handed Dynamo its eighth consecutive national title. Down to ten men after an unduly harsh red card, Lok held a 1:0 lead as the game was extended into its 94th minute without cause, until Dynamo finally tied the match on a questionable penalty. At the time Dynamo was under the patronage of the Stasi, East Germany's state secret police force headed by Erich Mielke, and since the late 70s had benefited from unfair player transfers and questionable officiating.

The blatant nature of the manipulation of the decisive match led to nationwide protests by long-suffering fans. The DFV (East German Football Federation) responded by placing a lifetime ban on Stumpf. However, there was no admission of complicity by Stumpf, the Stasi, or the football club, and no sanction against Dynamo – their title stood regardless of the protest.

It was eventually learned that Stumpf had worked for the Stasi under the cover name "Peter Richter" since the end of his army service.

After German re-unification in 1990 he trained game officials for the Thüringer Fußballverband (Thuringia Football Federation) and became part of the safety committee of the Nordostdeutschen Fußballverbandes (Northeast German Football Federation). To this day he denies any role in manipulating matches in the DDR.

References