Teamwork key for EURO referees
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
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Referees can appear quite solitary figures out in the middle of the pitch but the view inside their camp is they are very much the 17th team at these finals.
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'Support each other'
"We absolutely feel like a team," said Dutch referee Pieter Vink, whose tournament began with the Austria-Croatia game on Sunday. "I think that outside of the regular 16 teams, you could consider us the 17th team. We support each other in getting good games, even though you obviously want to get the best ones yourself." As one of Europe's leading referees, Vink meets regularly with his peers – they had two UEFA courses this year in the run-up to the EURO – and will now spend the better part of a month with them at their tournament base in Regensdorf, on the outskirts of Zurich. Vink's view is echoed by his colleague Frank De Bleeckere. "With the group of 12 referees and their assistants, it is really a friendly team," said the Belgian. "It's not the first time we are together and this means a lot, because we stay together and we are a group of friends actually."
Key relationship
Just like the national teams here at the EURO, the referees have their own support group, including physical trainers, masseurs and even a psychologist in addition to the experienced former officials in the UEFA Referees' Committee. The key relationship when it comes to teamwork, however, is that between the referee and his assistants. This is the second European finals where each referee has arrived accompanied by two linesmen from his own association and De Bleeckere, who will take charge of Thursday's Croatia-Germany fixture, said: "I think that refereeing is really a team effort now. I've been working for four years with my two assistants. I think it is very important to work together and to know each other's way of doing things.
Understanding
"It's an advantage to always work with the same people, not only on the pitch but outside too, because we are staying here for four weeks," continued De Bleeckere, whose assistants are Peter Hermans and Alex Verstraeten. "Personality is also important and we share a lot of things." Vink concurred, explaining that since the news of his appointment last December, his assistants Adriaan Inia and Hans ten Hoove "have been joining me in every single game, including the international ones". This resulting level of understanding can only be to the benefit of the 16 other teams on show in Austria and Switzerland.