The Referee - Rättskiparen - A film about Martin Hansson

A few days ago I received an email letting me know about the video Rättskiparen (The Referee). It's a documentary about the Swedish referee Martin Hansson, the man involved in the controversial non-call of a Thierry Henry handball in the France-Ireland World Cup qualifier in 2009. The film, made by Mattias Löw of the Swedish film group Freedom From Choice, traces Hansson's quest to become a World Cup referee and the immense challenges he faced along the way.

So I gave the film a watch and, to put it simply, I was blown away. It starts in early 2009 and shows the pressure Hansson is consistently under as a referee in Sweden. This includes at one point death threats so severe that he had to move his family into hiding for a week. And that was before the handball incident!

The film also shows the sacrifices that top officials have to make and the heavy toll the game can take on their personal lives. I've always been rather sympathetic to referees, moreso than most fans and certainly moreso than my pals in Section 133 at DC United matches. I remember officiating matches myself when I was in high school. The very first match I did ended with one of the coaches running onto the field to dispute the rules with me. And this was a match between a team of 7-year-olds!

Anyway, enough about my refereeing past and my own biases. Take a look for yourself and let me know your thoughts on Martin Hansson or even better your own experiences as a referee.