The Tokyo Games were able to unfold their setting and offer “ a light at the end of the tunnel“. But the year 2021 will remain, like the previous one, dominated by postponements and cancellations, constraints and uncertainties. The athletes paid the price. The institutions shook. The sports movement has been shaken. And the referees?
At the end of a year where judges and technical officials were not spared, FrancsJeux asked Patrick Vajda, president of IFSO (International Federation For Sports Officials). His analysis hardly encourages optimism.
FrancsJeux : What conclusions can we draw from the year 2021 in terms of arbitration?
Patrick Vajda : Data is not always easy to collect and therefore analyze. But one thing is certain: the health crisis has had a devastating effect on the number of referees and judges. Before the start of the pandemic, the curve was upward, especially among women. But the cessation of competitions and successive confinements nipped this progress in the bud. Women have slowed down or stopped their activity. Many have not resumed and may never do so. In France, the drop in numbers reaches 25 to 30% on average, men and women combined, with a few additional points on the female side.
Can we fear that the sports movement will soon lack judges and referees?
The impact will not be seen immediately at the highest level. The phenomenon mainly affects the lower categories, departmental and regional, even national. Professional arbitration is not affected. Not yet. But, in the long term, he will be too. The base will be restricted. In the next three or four years, the sports movement will lack referees and judges. The general level will therefore drop. It is difficult to know precisely the situation at the international level, because few countries have precise statistics. But, with sporting activity having been stopped or greatly slowed down almost everywhere on the planet, it is likely that the phenomenon will affect the sporting movement on a global scale.
Did the Tokyo Games suffer, in terms of refereeing and judging, from health conditions?
I feared it before the event started. At the Olympic Games, the pressure is so great that judges and referees need to wash their heads after a day of officiating. They must be able to breathe and recharge their batteries. In Tokyo, the conditions did not allow it. People lived in a closed circle, metro-work-sleep. But the refereeing did not suffer. Overall it was good. Even in boxing, where some of the best referees in the world were excluded after the scandal at the Rio 2016 Games, the level was good. The refereeing errors were more the result of the inexperience of certain judges than of a desire to manipulate the fights. But, all sports combined, the referees returned from the Tokyo Games very nervous, because they were connected to refereeing 24 hours a day.
Did the closed session affect the arbitration?
It all depends on the character of the referee and his resistance to pressure. Some found what they wanted there. For others, the absence of an audience was perceived as a lack. These referees need the presence of spectators because it pushes them to be their best.
When taking stock, it is difficult not to remember the recent and numerous incidents in football, particularly in French Ligue 1...
The phenomenon is worrying. The number of serious incidents is increasing, with disastrous consequences, such as the end of a match. The decision is his if the problem occurred inside the stadium, but the referee should not find himself in the position of having to decide to stop a match, because such a decision puts everyone in danger: players, referees, spectators... Professional referees are trained to make the decision to stop a match, but it nonetheless remains complex and very delicate. The public is going crazier and crazier, it’s a very worrying trend. It remains to be seen whether we are witnessing a new phenomenon, or whether the excessive attitude of spectators is linked to the health crisis and the return to stadiums after a long deprivation of sporting spectacle.
What to expect at the Beijing 2022 Winter Games?
The situation for referees looks very similar to that experienced last summer at the Tokyo Games. In certain disciplines, judges and officials were deprived of competitions for several months. But the “gap” was no more significant than for the Summer Games disciplines. The conditions of stay at the Beijing Games will also be comparable to those encountered in Japan. Facts have shown that referees are capable of overcoming them. I am more worried, and saddened, by the cancellation of the 2021 Winter Universiade in Lucerne. The university meeting has often served as a testing ground for aspiring judges and referees, before launching into the international deep end, or even officiating at the Olympic Games. The cancellation of the 2021 edition of this unique event represents a great loss.
