Film reveals human face of referee - 16 August 2009
No sooner had the curtain fallen on the world premi�re of Les Arbitres than the stars of the show were giving their unanimous approval to the UEFA-authorised film about referees at UEFA EURO 2008�.

Chorus of approval
The main characters of the 77-minute documentary attended the film's big-screen debut at the Locarno film festival on Monday � and later united in acclaiming director Yves Hinant's very human portrayal of the refereeing community. Swiss match official Massimo Busacca was the first of the featured referees to appear in the movie. He said it not only brought back the emotion of the tournament, but also served an important purpose in helping the public understand the difficulties facing football's men in the middle.

'Good message'
"It's a good movie because people can really understand what it is to take a decision in one second," Busacca told uefa.com. "And what it is like for the referee to take a decision, make a mistake and immediately have to forget it. It will help people understand what the referee's life is like. Sometimes it is not easy because you make a mistake and then you are alone. When I think in those terms, sometimes I am afraid. But it will be a good message and good publicity."

Broad vision
By showing the referees on and off the pitch � in situations ranging from the pressure cooker of a EURO finals match to the family home � director Hinant and producer Jean Libon have succeeded in presenting a broad vision of their subject. Spanish match official Manuel Mejuto Gonz�lez applauded their achievement. "It was a big surprise because the film shows the emotions, not only in specific moments in matches but the conversations in the matches, in the dressing room and with families," he said. "Everybody thinks that when the referee makes a decision, rightly or wrongly, he goes home and forgets about it. That's not true. Referees are like players � they think about what went on, they want to improve. It is good for everybody to see we are human, we are professional and we try our best."

Test of character
According to Roberto Rosetti, the Italian official who was appointed to take charge of the EURO final, the film will move audiences precisely because of its focus on a referee's fallibility. "It is a very interesting, very emotional film which shows the human part � the referee as a normal man. You see negative situations which are part of our career and which we have to live with. In my opinion it is important how the referee overcomes these situations. The human part of the referee is part of football. Refereeing mistakes are part of football. I have to prepare as well as possible, but beyond that I am a man and capable of correct decisions as well as mistakes."

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Effect on family
For English official Howard Webb, the role of the secondary characters in Les Arbitres is also significant, as it underlines the effect a referee's actions can have on their family. "Overall it's a really positive representation of our lives. I am aware of the fact my family go through emotions � their big desire was for my games to be controversy-free � but they understand that's not always possible. I chose to become a referee and it's only with their support that I've been able to get to this position. I am always hopeful that anything that happens on the field doesn't have an impact on the family. But the film brings home how it does affect people back home. It gives an insight into a world people would never normally see."

Emotional range
The tension, the pressure, the relief. The gamut of emotions that the referees are seen to experience is fondly remembered by now-retired Swedish official Peter Fr�jdfeldt. "It was a great time at the EURO and that is something I miss," he said. "We didn't know which way they would show us � positive or negative. But it was a great movie. The film shows we are not robots, and also that we want to do our best every time we go out there. It is like theatre out there � sometimes you laugh, sometimes you get angry � so you prepare for everything and expect the unexpected. You are an actor out on the pitch." And, in Locarno this week, on the silver screen too.

"I think it is a fantastic story." UEFA match official Howard Webb found that an 800-strong audience held a similar opinion when loud and long applause greeted the final whistle of Yves Hinant and Jean Libon's film Les Arbitres (The Referees) in the Swiss city of Locarno on Monday evening.

Movie premi�re
Webb was attending the premi�re of the revealing fly-on-the-wall documentary about the refereeing team at last summer's UEFA EURO 2008� finals in Austria and Switzerland. The slogan for that tournament, Expect Emotions, might also have applied to the reaction to the 77-minute film from a diverse audience at the Locarno International Film Festival.

Gamut of emotions
Les Arbitres had delivered on its promise of a humanist vision of football's men in the middle. Referees such as Webb, Roberto Rosetti, Massimo Busacca, Manuel Mejuto Gonz�lez and Peter Fr�jdfeldt were shown not only having to judge the constant and unforgiving ebb and flow of a game at its highest level; but also coping with a maelstrom of feelings such as tension, fear, pressure, disappointment, competition, joy and relief.

'A massive plus'
"These things show the good side of the referee � I think it has been a massive plus," Webb told uefa.com. "When we were asked if we wanted to be involved, we were told it was going to be a film about the referees, not just about the 90 minutes on the field. I couldn't understand how they were going to tell the story, but they do, don't they."

'Change the perception of referees'
The behind-the-scenes study of refereeing was made, with UEFA's authorisation, by Belgian director Yves Hinant, a documentary-maker for broadcaster RTBF, and produced by Jean Libon. "This film can change and improve the perception of football referees in the general public," said Yvan Cornu, UEFA's head of refereeing, after the work's big-screen debut. "It was a success, and very emotional for the referees present."

On and off the field
Les Arbitres has the referees as its central characters, depicting their journey from before the EURO to the final in Vienna and beyond. The match officials are seen in what Webb calls "a lonely place" � "there are 70,000 in the stadium but [you are] still on your own in the middle" � yet also in more familiar circumstances: the huddle of a post-match dressing room, with their peers at a hotel debrief, even at home with friends and family.

'Lead to greater understanding'
Hinant, who was assisted by co-directors Eric Cardot and Delphine Lehericey, had spoken about making a movie against the common perception � "to unite both fans and those utterly indifferent to the game". Webb hoped that the film might at least lead to a "greater understanding, not for us as people but for the profession we are in".

A hit
Les Arbitres was screened in Locarno as part of the festival's Here and Elsewhere programme. An additional showing had to be scheduled for today after Tuesday's follow-up performance sold out. It will be distributed in France and Germany, having its French premi�re in Paris on 15 September.