Interview: Football referee Jovan Krsmanovic 2022-04-25
Photo: @kauffeldtfilip at Instagram
Interview with football referee Jovan Krsmanovic
Jovan is an experienced referee who today referees in division 1 and also goes as a fourth referee in the Allsvenskan, the highest football league for men in Sweden. He has also been an elite referee in Futsal, but has now chosen to only referee football outdoors. Yeah, you hear - an experienced referee.– Hi Jovan! You referee quite high up in the series system in Sweden. Can you tell us what levels you referee?
– Hey. I refereed Futsal for 6 years and before last season I stopped refereed Futsal. I felt that it became too much and what made me make that decision was especially now that spring is coming and you go out on the grass and all those wonderful feelings around the matches will come, those feelings were not really there for me. I refereed all summer and all winter. Now with a little break and rest during the winter, I feel more charged again. I referee division 1 in Sweden and this is my second regular year in that division. I also go as a fourth referee in the Allsvenskan and Superettan.
– Nice. It sounds like football is a big part of your life, even if you take a break during the winter now.
– Yes. I've been thinking a lot about this thing called football. Really. And I think this is really fun. I rarely have boring matches and football clubs I visit now are professional. If you do your job, regardless of level, and you go in for it, it will be fun to referee.
– What is it like to referee division 1 one week, go fourth referee in the Allsvenskan and Superettan the second week and then referee as main official again?
– I think it's a good combo. Division 1 is a really fun series in Sweden, because the matches can go either way. It's full of talent and anything can happen in that series, it feels like. And of course it's good football. In the Superettan and Allsvenskan, there are more closed matches and a different tactic. It takes a lot of time and each match will probably be about 10 hours of travel and everything, then training on it where I have a dialogue with physio coach and schedule day by day. But like I said, I think this is really fun. Last year I had few fourth referee assignments and you can easily say that I referee about every third or fourth match as a fourth official.
– If we go back to when it all started now, when we know a little of your current situation. Do you know when you started refereeing and why?
– Haha, I'm a little unsure of it. But I guess in 2007-2008. And why I started refereeing, I remember very clearly. I started as an association referee and played in that club. I was a promising talent in division four. Or something like that! I think I was 16 when I started playing in the senior team. The association then demanded that we referee youth matches, so everyone in the senior team had to do it. And of course, the older guys got away with it and we younger ones got to do it. I thought it was fun then and it was a hell of a challenge. One situation I remember was when it was a throw-in, and I wondered if I should wave to the team that has the throw-in, or in the other direction. You know, I have to point to the team that has the throw in or the other way. I did not know at all there and then, but it went well. Then I refereed association and at that club for two years maybe and then I went on to be a district referee. It was a friend of the family who was nagging me to move on to the district. I really wanted to go for football, as a player. Then I said OK, I will go to the course. I remember that I had only 4 right on the rule test of 13 questions. You pass if you have 11 right answers. The retest was also difficult, but I got passed at least.
– And further from there then? From division 6 to division 1.
– I refereed division 6 and a couple of other series, but the refereeing was still for me second priority. My team that I played for went up to third division and then it is a serious level. When I moved to Jönköping in 2013, I thought that now we are running a new chapter in life and investing in things that can generate something in the future. Then I decided to invest in the more time and thought in being a referee. I decided to go in for being a referee more, be more serious. I'm really a very competitive person and can not do anything half-hearted. It's not possible for me. If it's a match, it's regardless of division and I've always been in favor of it, but now that I did not play anymore, the refereeing took up more of my time and thoughts. It took off in Jönköping and I have climbed one division at a time until the last two or three years where there was a threshold between division two and three.
– During that journey, from division 6 up to division 1. Is there something in your refereeing role that you have been thinking about, that has remained in your thoughts?
– No special situation or anything like that. But on the other hand, when I went to and from matches, I think incredibly much about "what if this happens" or "what should I do if this happens". Then I called someone in the referee club and asked "so, what do I do if this happens?". I even called at halftime two or three times because I was so unsure if a special thing would happen. I was worried a little bit, but still not. Those thoughts swirled a lot in my head during that time first part of my referee years, as a district referee. Now I am so well educated on those things and I rarely have rule-thoughts before or after a match. Now I think more about what kind of match it can be, you always have a feeling for it and you know where the team is in the table. Based on that, you sit and build up an expected picture of the match and usually that picture is correct, but you have to have a back-up plan if it does not turn out as you intended. Just the match picture.
– You were a new referee once upon a time. But to all the new referees who are out there today and have that feeling of worry about rules, matches or other things. Do you have any tips or things you would like to send to them?
– I think mainly of physics. Physics is popular to talk about today, in the role of a referee it should be obvious. It should have been like that for many years. To be able to referee football, you have to be able to see things. You need to be able to see people, players and leaders. You also need to be able to see situations before they arise and have time to think a lot about things in between and take action on it. That's the basics of being a referee. But I think you need to be humble. It's not so serious if you make a mistake, you do. You will make mistakes. One of my tips is what I did a lot, dare to ask other colleagues. You get a community with other fellow referees when you start as a referee and you exchange information with others. Maybe the referee club has a messenger group or text group where you can ask questions about situations, matches and things that have happened or could happen.
– Now you do not referee Futsal anymore. But is it something you take with you from that being a Futsal referee to outdoor matches?
– Yes. From Futsal you can bring a lot to football and above all this with match management and being effective with your refereeing. That you do what you need to do, you are effective and clear. When I started refereeing Futsal, I started in division 4 and after I started with Futsal, it took a lot of momentum with football outdoors for me. In football, I had the physique and was often in the right place, but what I had not developed so much then was the match leadership and management. In Futsal, it is so intense and they are on each other constantly throughout the matches. You learn to act fast and to be prepared for things, in a different way. When, after a season in Futsal, you went out on a big pitch and refereed, you thought that everything went in slow motion. I could see much more clearly what will happen. I can really recommend it! Combine it if you have the opportunity.
– What has being a referee given you so far in life Jovan?
– Oh, so much. So much! It has developed me as a person a lot. You get used to being in the center, to making uncomfortable decisions, to getting shit sometimes, to being scolded, to scolding others. Everything that is included in the referee package means that you take everything as lessons to the private side of life. It's fun to get away and you make friends for life, absolutely. But the biggest thing about the refereeing is probably the personal development. There is a shortage of referees everywhere and you read a lot about it. I want to send to new referees who are considering starting or ending. Keep in mind that you will benefit so much from being a referee. As a referee, you also get to go out and see a lot that you would not otherwise have seen, smaller cities, larger cities, travel to and from the match and god what fun I have had in this refereeing role and I still have.
– You've been a part of the football family all your life Jovan. Do you think that in the long run you will continue to be so?
– Undoubtedly! I love the role of referee, but the day I stop referee, I think it would be fun to play a little in division five or something. And I will definitely be a part of the association life, refereeing role or not, but I will be there when children, relatives and family plays - without a doubt.
– What a good conclusion to this interview Jovan. Nice that you belong to the football family and want to continue to do so in the future as well. Good luck with the refereeing this year.