Refs In The German Pro Hockey League Look Like Pandas After New Deal With WWF

Yikes. Tough look for refs in the DEL, the German professional hockey league, who were forced to wear Panda uniforms after agreeing to a new deal with the World Wildlife Fund for Nature.

“The diversity of the mascots in the DEL is a great starting point for us in order to arouse interest in nature and environmental protection. Both partners draw attention to the importance of biodiversity. At special action days, stadium visitors can learn about the cooperation through video inserts and WWF action stands, and become active themselves, “explains Sebastian Tripp, Head of Corporate Fundraising at WWF Germany.” (via Del.org)

You get enough shit as it is for a ref…can’t make it any better having to be in a panda uniform. The crazy part is apparently the refs are cool with the jerseys and are pumped to wear them. The DEL has some statements on their websites from some refs talking about how pumped they are to wear these.I don’t believe a word of it. No chance anyone would ever be pumped to wear these. I’d be willing to be bet half of those guys didn’t even fake the statement, they were probably just written for them.

“Marc Iwert (referee): “I think I’m not the only one of my colleagues who likes the new jerseys, both in terms of design and idea. As a team, we are very proud that we can support our environment in this way and raise awareness of endangered species. ” (Via Del.org)

I guess on the bright side it is for a good cause. But how much are referees in the German Pro Hockey league going to affect Pandas? Are there even pandas in Germany? Also wondering if this will start a new trend of advertising on the Refs. Got to imagine that will open a whole new can of worms though.