FIFA ‘boot camp’ tough

ZURICH, Switzerland – Any sports fan who has agonized over a referee’s call could take heart. This time, the referees were the ones being judged.

Fifty-one of the world’s top female referees sweated through a five-day FIFA “boot camp” this week in Zurich, the final stop before the world soccer body decides who will officiate at the Women’s World Cup in China in September.

“Decision-making is what counts – but you must be in shape to be in the right spot to make that decision,” said Sonia Denoncourt, a FIFA official and former referee from Canada. “Players are getting faster and the referees must keep up.”

The referees faced daily performance tests as part of FIFA’s efforts to improve and standardize officiating around the world. One slow time on any fitness test called for an immediate do-over. Two slow times meant an early plane ticket home. Forty-two of the candidates – 14 referees and 28 assistants – will get the call, some time late this month.

FIFA keeps two separate groups – referees and assistant referees or lineswomen – and has different expectations for each. All must be in shape, have 20/20 eyesight (with contacts, if necessary) and know the game’s rulebook by heart.

A referee also must have a strong personality to keep control of the game. Refs need excellent lateral vision, mobility and endurance, since they end up running 8-9 miles per game, twice the distance of assistants, Denoncourt said. Assistant referees have to be faster at sprinting to make offside calls.

This was reflected in the track tests. All the women had to run six 40-meter sprints, but assistants had to clock 6.4 seconds or better while referees could come in at 6.6 seconds. Timed intervals made up the endurance test, with refs running 20 150-meter dashes and having to complete each in 35 seconds.

Using teenage boys from Swiss club Grasshoppers, assistant referees made offsides calls in rapid succession before FIFA cameras, snapping orange and yellow flags as they pointed to the spot where the infractions occurred. Giddy smiles and high-fives broke out when a contender made the right call. Sighs and frowns followed the less successful tries.

“The rules are the same all over the world, but we need to be more consistent in decision-making from region to region,” Denoncourt said. “Referees are taught different things in each country, and it’s hard to change habits.”

The most unique test this week: making the right call on 68 actual games after watching 10-second videos.

All the referees had passed FIFA’s English tests and submitted medical exams before they were admitted to the camp. Those chosen face another medical exam before the Sept. 10-30 tournament. This week was the culmination of a process that began when 38 women attended FIFA’s first women’s referee workshop in 2005.