Photo: Juha Käenmäki Instagram: @jukaen

Interview with F-liiga and IFF floorball referee Manu Marttinen

Manu Marttinen is an experienced floorball referee. He referees the highest league in Finland, F-liiga and is also an international referee and referees within the IFF, international floorball federation. Manu believes that the sport is growing a lot, the players are getting better - but then even more is required of the referees. We also asked the question if he thinks the sport has become tougher?

– Hi Manu. You are a floorball referee in the highest league in Finland, F-Liiga. You and the floorball referees have been using Spintso headsets since 2015-2016, correct?

– Yes, correct. F-Liiga has been around for three years now, before it was called Salibandyliiga. And yes, it was us, the floorball referees themselves who said "we want a communication system". We collected some money ourselves and then we also got some from the Finnish Floorball Association. We used this money as "development money" and it suited quite well, because we wanted to develop ourselves as referees and take another step. The headset has worked perfectly for me and I've been using the same one now for years. I only had to change the windscreen on the microphone.


– In other words, Manu is a floorball referee. Can you tell us more about yourself?

– I am 42 years old and have a family, a wife and two children. I live in the city of Espo in Finland and work in the construction industry. We have an IT company where we build solutions for the infrastructure and the construction industry. I have a degree from the university here in Helsinki as an engineer. Now I work 100% and referee floorball at the same time. When the season starts, we have 1 match per week, as a starting point, but some weeks there will be two. I have had 305 matches in the top league as a floorball referee, I can say that I am one of the most experienced of us refereeing now.


– How long have you refereed floorball?

– I started when I was around 15 or 16 years old. I played floorball, in my hometown, in a local club and also in a "private" league with teams around there. We didn't have referees at all, and then I started refereeing that league, because I was asked if I wanted to referee. There I discovered the referee role and thought it was fun. When I was 18 and had a driver's license and a car, I decided to become a "real" floorball referee and went to the Finnish Floorball Association's referee course. It was in 1999, that I started refereeing for real, you could say.


– Here in Sweden, and other countries, it is common to start refereeing in a couple right from the start, in floorball. Is it the same in Finland?

– No, here in Finland it is a little different. Here you can referee at the highest level without being a regular pair of referees. But I would say that you strive for it and you definitely have a better chance of getting play-off matches and a chance to officiate internationally if you are a regular pair. I have had my referee partner Henri since 2007, we started refereeing together in the second league.


– What do you think is the best thing about the sport of Floorball?

– I've played football from 4 years old up to 15 years old as well, so for me it's easy to compare with that, for example. When I was a child I played football, because back then you didn't know what floorball was. I started playing floorball first when I was 15. The best thing about floorball is the speed! It's so intense and it goes fast. There are many situations that happen all the time. For sure all the time. You have to make a lot of decisions as a floorball referee during a game and it's a challenge every time. If you compare it to football, a big difference is the size of the field, of course. But in floorball all 10 players are active all the time and it's a few seconds in floorball, in football you sometimes have longer and more concentrated on the surface where the ball is.

– Football referees have Angle and Closeness to the situations as two important aspects. Do you floorball referees have the same?

– When I referee and read situations, for example in a counterattack, and I see that no tackle or collision is close, then I usually run as fast as I can for 5-10 meters to create a better position. In floorball, it's probably a bit more run, stop, look, run quickly backwards and then quickly forward. Much more short runs and intense small movements to create better positions as a referee. So angle and closeness is also important to us, but we really also have to think about the next step and make such quick decisions. In football, a ball can move to the other side in 10-20 seconds. In floorball, we are talking about a few seconds. Many people who do not referee floorball also think that we floorball referees are much more off the field than we are, outside the rink. I would say that I am 90% during a whole game inside and on the pitch. It also differs from arena to arena, because some have good surfaces and I can create better distance and vision by being further out and back, but in other places it doesn't work at all. It sometimes helps us to have 3 meters distance to see high club, versus 1 meter.


– Now the 15th season of F-Liiga has started. How excited are you for this season?

– Last season we didn't have a final, me and Henri. I hope we can get there this season and do a good job all the way there. This season we also have some new tools and aids as referees here. We have video review and we can check if a goal is correct or not. It's a bit like a VAR system in football, but we don't have a VAR team watching or anything, we do it ourselves. We can therefore check that the ball is in or not, and that the last touch was correct or not. For example, if the last touch before was high club, then we can check that. It is what is related to goals that we can and must check. Then we also have red-card situations that we have to check. We have to look at the video review before giving a red card, although I am 110% sure. We have had video review in some finals before, but only there and this is thus new for all matches this season.


– Do you have a match that you sometimes think back to as a referee?

– I think it is the semi-final in the Prague World Championships 2018, between Sweden and Switzerland. It was a tight and even match that ended in penalties. The feeling was great with a packed arena. It was a wonderful feeling and opportunity to be there. I can think back on that match a little extra sometimes.


– Finland and Sweden and a few other nations are world leaders in floorball. Floorball is a sport that is really growing all over the world. Do you referees notice anything about this?

– Yes, just as you say, it has long been a couple of countries that have dominated. But more countries are coming and it is growing all the time. There are possibilities with the sport, because you really just need a club and a ball, it's easy to play. I have been an international referee for 10 years now and some countries, especially in central Europe, have grown and are getting closer to the countries that are the best at floorball. We usually talk about the top four countries, Sweden, Finland, the Czech Republic and Switzerland. But for example, the challengers Slovakia, Poland, Germany and Latvia will come who have a higher level than they had before. At the World Games 2022 in Birmingham Alabama USA, Latvia also won over Switzerland. It is a good thing that there will be more challengers and the quality will be higher around these four countries. Then there are also even more countries from below. We referees notice this, of course, because there will be tighter matches, faster games and better quality.

– The sport is growing and more demands are placed on you as referees. Floorball has perhaps previously been a sport that has not been so tough, to generalize a bit. If you follow floorball, you can get the feeling that the sport is getting tougher. What are you saying?

– I would say that floorball as a sport has marketed itself as a sport you play with a club and you need to be skilled with the ball and the club. It is a sport for skilled players simply, with good physical attributes. In other sports, it is perhaps the other way around, if, as you say, we generalize a bit now. There you can primarily have good physical characteristics and secondarily skillful characteristics. For example, ice hockey, rugby, American football, football... and so on. But as you say, floorball is a bit tougher, because the players are not only skilled now. They are faster, stronger and more athletic compared to before. Here, too, the game becomes tougher and it is something we referees talk about more and more. Floorball as a sport is developing and we referees also need to keep up with that development.


– If a person is thinking about starting to refereeing floorball... what would you like to send to that person?

– When I started, when I was 15 years old, the first thing I thought was "aha, here I can earn some extra money". It is an important aspect of why one starts refereeing or becomes a referee in any sport. That's why I started. I wanted a little more money for my moped and fuel and this was the perfect fit. I can play floorball and then I can also be a referee in a sport I like, and at the same time get paid for it. Then other important aspects of being a referee include the challenge in it, in the big picture. Being a referee in a sport like floorball is a challenge, because it goes so fast. You will also move and train for your role as a referee, you will improve your own health. When you come to matches, you socialize with players, managers and people around the matches you referee too, the social part simply. It is very important! In every match you learn things and can develop as a person, you will grow as a person when you are a referee.


– Last question Manu. What is your next goal that you are looking forward to as a floorball referee?

– In the long term, it is to continue refereeing at the highest level internationally and in Finland. Then getting to experience playoffs and finals, both internationally and nationally, is something we strive for. We are only in our 40s and can continue refereeing for quite some time. One thing I can't influence is whether floorball will ever become an Olympic sport, but we got a taste at the World Games. Where there are sports that are not in the Olympics, yet, but maybe will get there in the future. Experiencing such big events was really fun and I really hope we can participate in them again. Something that I have also started to think about a bit is when I stop refereeing, in the future, is that I want to help train younger referees. I feel like I really want to give back to the sport. I have gained so much through all the opportunities I have been given and feel that I want to give back to the sport and help others in that role, just as I have been helped.


– Nice end to the interview Manu! Thanks for your time and good luck with everything.