Deschamps meets UEFA referees

It is perhaps something of a rarity to see an eminent football coach and world star of the recent past sharing a table at dinner with referees.

Normal comments
Normally, one expects to see the coach leaping off the bench to remonstrate at high volume with the match official over a borderline decision, or fill journalists’ notebooks with barbed post-match comments about the referee’s eyesight.

Stereotype buried
This stereotype was happily buried for an evening at this week’s UEFA courses for international referees in Monaco, when French star Didier Deschamps paid a visit to Europe’s top 'men in black'.

First coaching job
Deschamps was a FIFA World Cup winner in 1998 and UEFA European championship winner in 2000. A veteran of more than 100 internationals, the former France midfield player boasts a trophy cupboard bulging with medals earned with some of Europe’s top clubs. He is now halfway through his first season as a club coach with French outfit AS Monaco FC.

Invitation accepted
The 34-year-old former midfield anchorman accepted an invitation to attend a presentation on referees’ fitness by Belgian expert Prof. Werner Helsen, and then joined the referees at their evening meal.

Sharing a table
Deschamps shared a table with top European match officials such as Pierluigi Collina (Italy), Anders Frisk (Sweden), Graham Poll (England) and Vito Manuel Melo Pereira (Portugal), reminiscing and sharing experiences.

Good opportunity
Deschamps was given the opportunity to become better acquainted with the problems and pressures that match officials face in controlling the world’s top players in a big-match environment.

Respect for referees
"As a player, I had an enormous amount of respect for referees," he told uefa.com. "I was often captain, and it was up to me to talk to them."

No comments
"I can’t say that I was always a fair player, because I played in a position where I committed a lot of fouls. But I never allowed myself to insult referees or make abusive comments to them," he added.

Healthy attitude
Deschamps says that he maintained a healthy attitude towards referees, even if it was not always easy to accept their decisions. Indeed, many referees at the Monaco course say that he was easy to deal with on the pitch. "I respected them a lot, and perhaps that’s why the referees respected me, even though they had to give me cards – perhaps I deserved them."

Different view
Does he view referees in a different way now that he has hung up his boots for a career on the coaches’ bench? "Yes, you obviously do, because when you are a coach, you don’t see a match in the same way as when you're a player."

Distance and calm
"What you tend to remember more are what you feel are refereeing errors, which might have an influence on the result," he adds. "A coach is powerless in such situations. But I try to keep a certain distance and stay calm, even if there are decisions that go against you, because it’s not just the referee that contributes to what happens in a match."

Contact breaks barriers
Deschamps concludes with the view that contact between coaches and referees can help break down preconceived barriers. "I think that apart from the physical and other specific work that referees do, there is also an important psychological aspect for them, which is human contact. Referees are not robots, and they can make mistakes. It is a good thing that they recognise this, and it's something that can certainly help facilitate contact between referees, players and coaches."