Summer school for German refs

By Manfred Christoph

Germany's referees are well prepared for the new Bundesliga season after a lengthy course organised by the German Football Association (DFB).

Six-day camp
For the first time, the 44 match officials who will take charge of games in the top two divisions were invited to a six-day training camp in the Black Forest resort of Altensteig-Wart. "The feedback was generally positive as far as the content is concerned," said Hellmut Krug, a former Bundesliga referee and head of the DFB referees' department.

Refereeing and work time
According to DFB coach Eugen Strigel, another ex-Bundesliga referee, the major problem facing match officials today is the balance between refereeing and work commitments. "The referees are at their limit, because they cannot always ask their employers for a holiday," he explained.

Possible solutions
The DFB referees' committee will meet shortly, and one of the items on the agenda will be possible ways of helping referees who work full-time. However, Krug emphasised that this did not mean a move towards professional refereeing in Germany. "This is still not an option for us," he said.

Physical fitness
The pre-season course included a test on the Laws of the Game, which all 44 officials passed. The other main part involved a physical examination, in which the referees had to pass the Cooper fitness test – running a minimum 2,700 metres in 12 minutes. Three referees - Markus Schmidt, Christian Schössling and Holger Henschel - have until 12 August to prove their fitness, as they have been injured. Krug praised the efforts of his students: "They were outstanding, as you would expect at this level."

Marathon man
Meanwhile, Markus Merk, the German official who took charge of the UEFA EURO 2004™ final between Portugal and Greece in Lisbon at the start of July, has been staying in shape after his exertions in Portugal. The 42-year-old dentist from Kaiserslautern ran a marathon a couple of weeks after the final, while his colleagues trained for the coming campaign over shorter distances.

New content
Media education, a new item in the comprehensive training programme, proved to be a worthwhile addition. "In today's media landscape, referees have to be professionally prepared," said Strigel. "The communication training has proved to be worthwhile, and everyone was happy with it."

New rule
As far as the laws are concerned, the priority in the 2004/05 season will be consistency in decision-making, although there is one slight amendment to the rules this time around. Once the campaign starts on 6 August, players who pretend to take off their shirts after scoring will be shown a yellow card. "Anyone who covers his head with his jersey will be booked," Strigel explained.

Cultural reasons
Previously, players were cautioned for completely removing their tops. The new rule applies worldwide for cultural and religious reasons. "Of course, nobody has anything against expressions of joy," said Volker Roth, chairman of the DFB referees' committee, who is also the UEFA Referees' Committee chairman.

Dangerous celebrations
However, he pointed out that "in Islamic countries, taking off your shirt is seen as an insult to the crowd". In addition, he reported that serious injuries had been reported in South America, with supporters being crushed while attempting to grab items of kit thrown into the crowd.