'Be yourself and stay natural'

By Pete Sanderson

Like all élite sports officials, every football referee must learn to deal with various changes during his or her career.

Individual personality
But as far as Pierluigi Collina, Markus Merk or any top official is concerned, there is something far more crucial to the make-up of a referee than just ability to deal with the occasional rule change: they must learn to stamp their personality on a match.

'Rookie referees'
That was the message UEFA Referees' Committee member Michel Vautrot sought to deliver to the latest group of 'rookie referees' looking to make names for themselves on day two of the 14th UEFA Introductory Course for International Referees on France's Côte D'Azur.

'Rule application'
"You can know every law in the book, and run 4,000 metres on the Cooper Run, but if you cannot apply it on the pitch it means nothing," Vautrot told the 30 new referees on the UEFA list. "Your personality is very important to refereeing so it is imperative that you be yourself and stay natural. A player will see straight through an official who is pretending to be someone he is not."

Serious message
Vautrot's second-day lectures have become something of a tradition for the annual course. Those who have had the pleasure of witnessing his motivational messages over the years know just how entertaining the man who refereed at two FIFA World Cups can be. But beneath the joviality and humour lie some serious undertones. The Frenchman subscribes religiously to the phrase: 'Let your personality do the talking or you will never succeed.'

Natural leader
"Most of you probably think you have already made it as top referees," continued Vautrot. "I certainly did when I first made it on to the UEFA list. But the truth is, this is just the start of a long hard road to the top. You are not Collina now, and you never will be. Maybe one day one of you will be as good as him and learn from his talent, but you will always be you and that means you must succeed in your own way.

Positive outlook
"But you must understand that the reason Collina, [Anders] Frisk and Merk are such good referees is because they manage the law through their personality. Collina is a natural leader and has a very positive outlook on life. Admittedly, like every human, he makes the occasional mistake. But people still respect him because he is a natural leader on the pitch and not a dictator."

Inspiring talk
Vautrot's lecture was a talking point among most of the young referees throughout the day, with England's Howard Webb particularly taken by the Frenchman's inspirational pep talk. "It was great to hear a man of his experience giving us advice," said the Yorkshire-based official, who takes charge of next weekend's Premiership match between Chelsea FC and Manchester City FC.

Real ambition
"Not only does he make you realise there is still a lot of hard work ahead, he also makes you want to do everything you possibly can to get to the top of the refereeing ladder. I don't think many of us will forget a motivational speech like that in a hurry."

New arrivals
As one former élite official offered his words of wisdom, another 46 were jetting in from their respective corners of Europe for the 13th UEFA Advanced Course for Elite and Premier Referees which gets under way on Wednesday. Their main duty will be to look at a possible new fitness test as well as ways of making the game more manageable for officials.