Bernd and Reiner Methe

Bernd and Reiner Methe (1 June 1964 – 11 November 2011) were German twins and handball referees. They refereed for the German Handball-Bundesliga and in international competitions until their deaths in a car crash in November 2011. Their highest profile match was the final of the 2010 European Men's Handball Championship.

Bernd and Reiner Methe
Bernd Methe with Reiner Methe
Born	(1964-06-01)1 June 1964
Died	11 November 2011(2011-11-11) (aged 47) Between Empfingen and Haigerloch, Baden-Württemberg
Nationality	German
Occupation	Handball referee
Years active	1988–2011

Biography

The Methe twins were born in 1964. Bernd was married to Susanne and Reiner to Petra on the same day. Bernd had one child and Reiner two. They lived 50 meters apart from each other in the town of Vellmar and both worked for Mercedes-Benz in Kassel.^[1][2]

Refereeing careers

In 1987 the brothers took up refereeing, officiating as a pair from 1988. The brothers reached Handball-Bundesliga level in 1993. Between 1993 and 2011 they took charge of 670 national league matches.^[1][3][4]

The Methe brothers began refereeing international handball in 1998, refereeing all of their matches together. They refereed 206 international matches.^[2][5]

They refereed the 2010 European Men's Handball Championship Final between Croatia and France.^[5]

Deaths

The Methe brothers died in a car crash on Bundesstraße 463 between Empfingen and Haigerloch, Baden-Württemberg. They were travelling to a Handball-Bundesliga match between HBW Balingen-Weilstetten and SC Magdeburg. The Mercedes-Benz E-Class car they had collected the day before collided with a furniture truck. Local prosecutors announced that they were investigating the cause of the crash, including the involvement of another vehicle. The match they were due to officiate was cancelled after they did not arrive.^[2][5][6]

References

1. "Der Handballsport trauert um Bernd Methe und Reiner Methe" (in German). 1990 HV Merkers e.V. November 12, 2011. Retrieved November 27, 2011.
2. Schneider, Karolin; Sturm, Axel; Weitzmann, Dirk (November 12, 2011). "Der rätselhafte Tod der Schiedsrichter-Zwillinge Warum bloß rasten sie in den Gegenverkehr?". Bild.de (in German). Retrieved November 28, 2011.
3. "Bernd Methe". Deutscher Handballbund. Archived from the original on November 30, 2011. Retrieved November 28, 2011.
4. "Reiner Methe". Deutscher Handballbund. Archived from the original on November 30, 2011. Retrieved November 28, 2011.
5. "German IHF referees Methe/Methe die in tragic car accident". International Handball Federation. November 14, 2011. Retrieved November 27, 2011.
6. "Twin referees killed on way to handball game". Yahoo! Sports. Associated Press. November 12, 2011. Retrieved November 27, 2011.^{[permanent dead link]}