Refereeing the perfect team - from Japan

Games 20-22, 2018-19

A couple of years back I refereed two games in one weekend involving ethnically based teams from the following four countries: Greece, Morocco, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Korea. Ever since, I've enjoyed asking family and friends, "Which team do you think gave me the most hassle?" And every single person gives the Korean team as their final answer after exhausting any combination of the first three. All wrong. It was the Koreans who picked up more cautions than the other three teams combined. Wahay - our ethnic and cultural pre-conceptions take another kick in the nuts.

So, to a three-game weekend: on Friday night I referee a friendly between one of the city's top U19 clubs and a touring team from Nagoya High School in Japan. I'm intrigued to see how the teams shape up not just in football terms, but in how they respond to my calls. Another test of the cultural archetype.

I heart Nagoya

The Japanese team come bearing gifts. Not just for the home players, but also for the referee. I've never received anything other than a post-match Wurst and a €2 tip when no one's got any change, so in comparison this feels like the big time. Like when teams used to exchange pennants, medallions and memorabilia and all that 70s stuff. So I now own a pin badge marking 130 years since Nagoya was declared a city (I think). 

The lavish gift doesn't influence me in thinking that the Nagoya team is impeccable in every way...

Want to read more? Click here to order Reffing Hell: Stuck In The Middle Of A Game Gone Wrong by Ian Plenderleith (Halcyon Publishing), published on August 8, 2022.