Officials set for warm reception

By Mark Chaplin

As well as keeping a tight rein on Europe's biggest footballing names, officials at UEFA EURO 2004™ will have to cope with the searing heat of the Portuguese sun.

Hot stuff
The 12 referees, 24 assistant referees and four fourth officials appointed for EURO 2004™ are currently in Portugal for a four-day seminar designed to help prepare them for the final round. And they gained early experience of what awaits them during their fitness test on Tuesday at the Estádio Jorge Sampaio in Pedroso, close to the referees' tournament headquarters at San Félix da Marinha, near Porto.

Nice weather
The temperature was already nudging past 25C on a cloudless late spring morning. "It's just like being in Nice," said assistant referee Frédéric Arnault, based in the south of France, "but I can imagine it's difficult for the guys from the north of Europe."

Cooper test
Out on the running track, the referees were being asked to show the levels of fitness required to handle the breakneck speed of the élite game. Under the watchful eye of UEFA's Belgian referee fitness expert Werner Helsen and his team, the referees and assistants took the Cooper test, in which they have to run a minimum 2,700 metres in 12 minutes, and two 50m sprints. The referees were also asked to do two 200m runs.

Heat warning
The general feeling was - if this is how warm it is in April, then wait until June and July. "You'll have to be prepared for 30 to 35 degrees in the north of Portugal, and anything up to 40 degrees in the south," Helsen warned the officials. Plenty of water and special drinks were at hand to quench inevitable thirsts.

Fit officials
Close up, there is no doubting the officials' fitness and professionalism. Specialist warm-up routines, jogging, walking and recovery accompanied the actual running and sprinting work.

Bonding process
Encouragement and teamwork will also be key factors in the referees' lives at EURO 2004™, and their camaraderie was evident during the session. The referees and assistants stayed as a group during their separate Cooper tests, cajoling and motivating each other, shouting out times after each lap and enjoying the odd laugh - there were even back-slaps and high fives after the officials crossed the finish line in the sprint exercises.

Great results
The results of the tests were conclusive. The referees, told beforehand that no one was expecting Olympic-style performances, just a confirmation of their fitness and condition at an important stage of their preparations, sailed through the Cooper tests and sprints. "I can tell you that the results are all definitely satisfying," Helsen assured them.

Special programme
In addition to their end-of-season activities in European and domestic competitions, the referees and assistants are being provided with a specific five-week training programme by Helsen that is designed to help them reach peak condition for the start of their final-round duties on 4 June.

Peak condition
"Referees have to be fit until the final whistle," Helsen told the referees. "Players get tired towards the end of a match, and that's why the number of yellow and red cards increase in the closing stages because of incidents like late tackles. Referees get tired too - but they still must take the right decisions. That's why we have to get you to the peak of condition - because then you'll always be in a position to take optimum decisions." On this week's evidence, Europe's refereeing élite will be up to the challenge in Portugal.