Nghe An people are not interested in being 'kings of the field'?

(Baonghean) - In a land where football is considered an indispensable spiritual food, many Nghe people have become famous in fields related to the football field. But in terms of refereeing, up to now, apart from Nguyen Dinh Nghia, no one in Nghe An has pursued the profession of judging.

Meanwhile, many localities do not have teams participating in the V-League, even the First Division still has many referees. Many people, who are not players, are eager to participate in this refereeing profession.

In fact, in professional football, refereeing is not a real job, meaning there are no professional referees. The referees only consider refereeing as a side job, after each match they return to their main job, which makes them more impartial.

In the list of 10 best referees in the history of world football by IFFHS, even with red eyes, there is not a single professional referee. Mr. Graham Poll - Sales Manager, Kim Nielsen - Head of IT Department, Collina is a financial consultant, Marcus Merk - dentist... But the path to becoming a Vietnamese football referee is not simple for "outsiders", more or less they have to be people from the Department of Culture - Sports and Tourism, physical education teachers of schools.

Coach Ngo Quang Truong and SLNA players react to referee Ha Van Chien - Photo: Internet

There is hardly anyone who is an amateur like in countries with developed football. First, they attend VFF training courses, then register to referee amateur tournaments, then Second Division, First Division, and gradually climb up to V-League. Nghe An has dozens of retired players, but only defender Nguyen Dinh Nghia (14-SLNA) has been a referee for a while.

Obviously, having followed a career in shorts and jerseys, understanding the psychology and "lessons learned" of players, if switching to a career as a referee, there would be many conditions for development, but a series of SLNA players at that time either followed the coaching profession or retired. Looking at the list of former SLNA players participating in youth training at clubs, there are only about 20 coaches such as: Huu Thang, Quang Truong, Duc Thang, Anh Tuan, Quang Hai, Van Dung, Ky Phuong, Manh Huy, Van Tien, Xuan Vinh, Sy Hung, Thanh Cong, Sy Son...

Obviously, with the main referee's training cost of about 6 million VND/month, assistant referee's cost of 4 million VND/month, not including the cost of food, accommodation, and travel covered by the Organizing Committee, the referee's fixed income is not less than 20 million VND/month. Combined with the fixed salary at the governing body and other support (1 million VND/month from VPF), this is quite high compared to the general level.

However, when wearing the black shirt, things are not as simple as calculation. The first thing is how to be included in the list of referees for the First Division and V-League. Even if you are capable, how to let people know your ability is the important issue. You are impressive, "king of the field", but when you enter the profession, you know that being a referee is on the anvil, under the hammer, surrounded by pressure from the hotel to the stands, your ears always have to listen to the phone...

When going into a match, in addition to having to know the list of referee supervisors, match supervisors, which station is broadcasting live, which commentator is sitting in the cabin, and whether there are VFF officials in the stands. Referees must also know how to maintain friendly relations with their colleagues in the style of "give and take". Of course, no referee would say that he is close to any club, but it is certainly not by chance that referee Ha Anh Chien is always involved in matches involving Thanh Hoa, last year it was Pho Nui, this year it was SLNA. In principle, being assigned to officiate a key match is "happy", but for an "inexperienced" referee like Chien, it is "a disaster that never comes alone" because no one is foolish enough to reach out to save him.

Tran Duy Khanh and Nguyen Hoang Anh (right) are two referees from Nghe An who are currently officiating in the V.League and the First Division. Photo: D.C.

Nghe An people are not good at relationships, so if they practice their profession, they will eventually give up. Speaking of expertise, a series of SLNA players who have recently retired such as Tan Thinh, Van Luu, Thanh Long... cannot lose to Vinh "Mui", even Thu "Mui" or Bui Xuan Hoa (originally from Ha Tinh, Dak Lak Department of Sports and Physical Training - retired)... who are considered the tough referees of Vietnamese football today. Obviously, if there are Nghe An people in the team of football kings, SLNA will also benefit during the competition. But really, it is better than having a distorted whistle, being criticized by fans...

An Thanh