Together with his refereeing partner, Lars Geipel, Marcus Helbig refereed more than 250 matches on international level, including at the EHF EUROs from 2008 to 2020, with the last highlight being the bronze medal match at EHF EURO 2020 in Stockholm.
"This is very sad news that deeply touches everyone in refereeing and in the entire handball family. We will miss Marcus Helbig very much as a person with his always confident manner. He was an absolute professional and role model for generations of referees. Our thoughts are with his family at this time," said Jutta Ehrmann, Head of Refereeing at the German Handball Federation and member of the EHF’s Technical Refereeing Committee.
Highlights of Helbig’s career included appearances at the 2012 Olympic Games in London and in 2016 in Rio as well as at the EHF FINAL4 in Cologne in 2017 and 2019.
Beyond his own career, Marcus Helbig was involved as a delegate and coach in refereeing in Germany and on EHF level. It was very important to him to pass on his knowledge, skills and experience.
In the early summer of 2020, Helbig fell seriously ill, shortly after Lars Geipel and him had once again been named Germany's Referees of the Year.
"Marcus was a part of my life as a team partner. I admired how he defied his illness for a long time and always radiated confidence. The fact that he lost this battle hurts my heart. He will be greatly missed," said Lars Geipel.
