Ihringova enjoys refereeing chance

Four years ago Slovakian referee Alexandra Ihringova took charge of the UEFA WOMEN'S EURO 2005™ final in England and liked it so much that she moved there. Now Ihringova, herself the niece of a referee, is in the officiating team for the current finals in Finland and spoke to uefa.com about the experience.

uefa.com: How are you enjoying it here?

Alexandra Ihringova: I am loving every minute of it. I was lucky enough to be involved in the last EURO, and I think that in four years the game has made so much progress, and it's just great to be involved.

uefa.com: How much has the level of refereeing improved?

Ihringova: We have done plenty of work. There is a development with UEFA and FIFA, and actually all of us are involved. We get plenty of training sessions together and I think we have done a lot over the last four years.

uefa.com: There have been very few bookings so far, any idea why?

Ihringova: Maybe because the girls are so well behaved. I think it is part of women's football that it's a fair game.

uefa.com: What are your memories of the 2005 finals?

Ihringova: I went all the way to the final so of course it's one of my best refereeing memories. It's the best thing that can happen to a referee. I was just 30 and it was my first really big tournament and I made it all the way to the final so it was one to remember. I just loved every game.

uefa.com: Did the move to England help your career?

Ihringova: I think it did. I have developed quite a lot as a referee in England. The game is completely different, so different to what I was accustomed to on the continent. It changed my refereeing quite significantly I think. I communicate with players much better now than I did. It's one thing you have to learn in England, to survive, and I'm involved at a really good level with the Football League which is great as well.

uefa.com: Describe the atmosphere in the referees' camp?

Ihringova: We all know each other really well, we've been meeting each other for years and some of the girls are my best friends. We are a team, we work together, we support each other. It's definitely not an individual effort. We want to be the 13th team.

uefa.com: Last year you refereed the second leg of the UEFA Women's Cup final between 1. FFC Frankfurt and Umeå IK...

Ihringova: It was one of the best games of football that I have ever been involved in. It was 90 minutes of constant end-to-end running, excellent football and 27,000 spectators, so it was a great atmosphere. It was pretty good, I wouldn't mind refereeing one of those matches again!