He was Germany’s “Referee of the Year” and has taken charge of the DFB Cup final as well as games at the Olympics, European Championships and World Cups. Wolfgang Stark has seen a lot during his career and this weekend is a big occasion for him. He will take charge of his 300th Bundesliga game.
The landmark will take place on Saturday in Freiburg, with Hamburger SV providing the opposition (15:30 CET). The 45-year-old will be the second German referee to surpass the 300 mark – Dr. Markus Merk took charge of 339 top-flight clashes. Stark has been a referee for the DFB since 1994, took charge of his first Bundesliga game in 1997 and was a FIFA listed referee between 1999 and 2014.
German referees who have taken control of the most Bundesliga matches:
Rank | Name | Birthdate | BL Games | From | Until |
1 | Dr. Markus Merk | 15.03.1962 | 339 | 1988 | 2008 |
2 | Wolfgang Stark | 20.11.1969 | 299 | 1996 | Still active |
3 | Florian Meyer | 21.11.1968 | 264 | 1999 | Still active |
4 | Herbert Fandel | 09.03.1968 | 247 | 1995 | 2009 |
5 | Hellmut Krug | 19.05.1956 | 240 | 1986 | 2003 |
6 | Michael Weiner | 21.03.1969 | 224 | 1999 | Sill active | /tr>
7 | Knut Kircher | 02.02.1969 | 220 | 2001 | Still active |
8 | Thorsten Kinhöfer | 27.06.1968 | 206 | 2002 | Still active |
8 | Peter Gagelmann | 09.06.1968 | 206 | 2000 | Still active |
10 | Edgar Steinborn | 27.04.1957 | 201 | 1988 | 2004 |
11 | Lutz-Michael Fröhlich | 02.10.1957 | 200 | 1989 | 2005 |