Manfred Prause

As a player, coach, and referee Manfred Prause dedicated his life to the sport of handball. In his native Germany Prause played the sport from 1956 to 1976, overlapping with his work as a coach from 1970 until 1990. During this time he also began to referee matches, officiating in his first match in 1964. By 1975 he had become a referee in the Bundesliga, going on to oversee almost 500 matches up to 1992. Two years after becoming a domestic referee Prause had qualified as an international referee via a course with the International Handball Federation (IHF). His international career saw him officiate in almost 300 matches including the gold medal men’s match at the 1988 Seoul Olympics between the Soviet Union and South Korea.

After his career as a referee Prause became a delegate of the German Handball Federation before being voted in as the head of refereeing of the European Handball Federation. He sat on multiple committees, eventually becoming the chair of the IHF Playing Rules and Referees Commission in 2009 until his retirement in 2017.