Paul Steiner (born 23 January 1957) is a German retired professional footballer who played mainly as a central defender.

After retiring at 34, Steiner later worked as a scout for Köln's Rhine rival, Bayer 04 Leverkusen, before taking up the same role back at the former club.

[2] Steiner was one of the oldest debutants in the Germany national team, when he appeared as a 33-year-old substitute in the final friendly match ahead of the 1990 FIFA World Cup in Italy, against Denmark at Gelsenkirchen's Parkstadion on 30 May.

[3] He was surprisingly selected for the World Cup squad in favour of Bayer Uerdingen's Holger Fach, who had been the expected pick of coach Franz Beckenbauer as Klaus Augenthaler's understudy.

Steiner was commonly quoted in Germany as stating in a talk show that homosexuals were "too soft" for playing football.