Referees Gone Wild

Extensive psychological tests, exhaustive medical checks, intense tests on the laws of the game, no donuts for a week . . . the 44 men vying for the 30 referee spots at the World Cup are about to undergo their own version of Hell Week. Too bad this isn’t a reality television program because it sure would be fun watching a bunch of refs from around the world being physically and mentally tortured all in the name of earning a trip to the World Cup.

For those that do make the cut, the rewards will be great.

The referees’ delegation will be one of the first to arrive in Germany, allowing them time to meet and prepare for the big event. During the four weeks of competition itself, the officials will share communal living space at their tournament headquarters in Frankfurt, training daily to stay in perfect shape. They will also be backed up by a team of trainers, instructors, physiotherapists and masseuses, who will collectively help them maintain peak fitness. The match officials will only leave their base to referee their assigned games.

So basically these guys are locked in their dorm rooms for days on end with only a set of barbells and one another to play with. That does sound like fun and like the perfect opportunity for our hidden cameras to get great footage for our upcoming series of videos called “Referees Gone Wild.”

For actual analysis of how the refs do during their boot camp and throughout the World Cup, you’ll want to tune into our Referees Blog.

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