'Doesn't it mess your hair?' When bigots and bans were norm

BERLIN - At 75, former soccer player Baerbel Wohlleben still clearly remembers the moment in 1974 when a journalist asked, "But when you head the ball, doesn't it mess up your hair?"

Wohlleben was 30 at the time, but was only officially three years into her career because until 1971 the German Football Association (DFB) banned women from playing in competitions.

Moreover, any clubs allowing women to train or play at their facilities were subject to sanctioning.