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Les Arbitres takes plaudits in Locarno

The UEFA-authorised documentary film about the refereeing team at UEFA EURO 2008™, Les Arbitres, has enjoyed a successful debut with its première at the Locarno International Film Festival.

Les Arbitres – Howard Webb, Manuel Mejuto González, Roberto Rosetti & Peter Fröjdfeldt
Les Arbitres – Howard Webb, Manuel Mejuto González, Roberto Rosetti & Peter Fröjdfeldt ©Boris Conte

"I think it is a fantastic story." UEFA match official Howard Webb found that an 800-strong audience held a similar opinion when loud and long applause greeted the final whistle of Yves Hinant and Jean Libon's film Les Arbitres (The Referees) in the Swiss city of Locarno on Monday evening.

Movie première
Webb was attending the première of the revealing fly-on-the-wall documentary about the refereeing team at last summer's UEFA EURO 2008™ finals in Austria and Switzerland. The slogan for that tournament, Expect Emotions, might also have applied to the reaction to the 77-minute film from a diverse audience at the Locarno International Film Festival.

Gamut of emotions
Les Arbitres had delivered on its promise of a humanist vision of football's men in the middle. Referees such as Webb, Roberto Rosetti, Massimo Busacca, Manuel Mejuto González and Peter Fröjdfeldt were shown not only having to judge the constant and unforgiving ebb and flow of a game at its highest level; but also coping with a maelstrom of feelings such as tension, fear, pressure, disappointment, competition, joy and relief.

'A massive plus'
"These things show the good side of the referee – I think it has been a massive plus," Webb told uefa.com. "When we were asked if we wanted to be involved, we were told it was going to be a film about the referees, not just about the 90 minutes on the field. I couldn't understand how they were going to tell the story, but they do, don't they."

'Change the perception of referees'
The behind-the-scenes study of refereeing was made, with UEFA's authorisation, by Belgian director Yves Hinant, a documentary-maker for broadcaster RTBF, and produced by Jean Libon. "This film can change and improve the perception of football referees in the general public," said Yvan Cornu, UEFA's head of refereeing, after the work's big-screen debut. "It was a success, and very emotional for the referees present."

On and off the field
Les Arbitres has the referees as its central characters, depicting their journey from before the EURO to the final in Vienna and beyond. The match officials are seen in what Webb calls "a lonely place" – "there are 70,000 in the stadium but [you are] still on your own in the middle" – yet also in more familiar circumstances: the huddle of a post-match dressing room, with their peers at a hotel debrief, even at home with friends and family.

'Lead to greater understanding'
Hinant, who was assisted by co-directors Eric Cardot and Delphine Lehericey, had spoken about making a movie against the common perception – "to unite both fans and those utterly indifferent to the game". Webb hoped that the film might at least lead to a "greater understanding, not for us as people but for the profession we are in".

A hit
Les Arbitres was screened in Locarno as part of the festival's Here and Elsewhere programme. An additional showing had to be scheduled for today after Tuesday's follow-up performance sold out. It will be distributed in France and Germany, having its French première in Paris on 15 September.

Click here to read the referees' reaction to Les Arbitres.