Guestblogger Simon Tilkin, referee from Belgium

Hi there!

I’m Simon Tilkin, 17 years old and a referee in Belgium. I’m now refereeing games in the highest category of youth games, and recently also adult games. Besides refereeing, I also have my own referee blog, called YungRefLife. On this blog I often post tips and tricks to help referee colleagues, interviews with top referees, and more. Pretty exciting. A few days ago, the 2022/2023 season finally kicked off for me with two exciting fixtures: a friendly youth game and a cup game. Now already my sixth season as a referee since I started in November 2017. In this guest blog you’ll read how I’d become a referee and how this hobby became the biggest passion I ever had.

It all started in my fourth year in primary school in 2015: I got completely into football after the World Cup in Brazil. At school, we had a small turfgrass pitch where we played football each break. I also started watching more and more matches, and these referees caught my attention. I once asked the teachers if it was possible to referee a match, so finally I did. In the beginning I thought it was only about blowing the whistle and giving yellow and red cards, which was quite funny.

Then in 2017 I did my course for a small Belgian football association, called KVV (stands for Katholiek Voetbalverbond). I did pass the exam too, although it was not an easy one. But because of my age (12) I was not allowed to referee official games yet. So, I started refereeing as a club referee at my own club where I was also playing. I refereed the youngest teams, such as u7’s and u8’s. I did this for one season. My second season I joined the Youth Referee Academy in Berchem Sport. It was the same system as at my own club, the only differences were the fact that I had some observers now who were able to develop my referee skills, also the level of football was better. I did this for two full seasons, and I really learned a lot over there.

In 2020 I successfully passed the official RBFA (Royal Belgian FA) referee course. From then on, I was able to referee official games. I started with the u15’s, which was quite easy. Last season I quickly promoted to the u17’s, later the u21’s, and at the end of the season I could referee my first adult football game, and I got appointed for a provincial u17 cupfinal. In my Referee Association KSOVA I was chosen as Youth Talent of the year, a real honor.

Hope you guys liked my story. Soon more of my referee adventures!