Boonman: ‘CL debut is one of my pinnacles’

The season ending was very interesting for Angelo Boonman. He wint to Bulgaria with Elite ref Pieter Vink and AR Marc Lobbert to officiate top match Levski Sofia and Litex Lovech. The cherry on the cake was officiating with the same trio in the Dutch title thriller between Ajax and FC Twente.

“Each step in your career is so fantastic”, says Angelo Boonman to the Dutch Referee Blog. Read the first part of the interview here. “I’ve made my debut in the Champions Leaugue too. A pinnacle”, says the 30-year-old Dutch assistant referee.

“As assistant you can distinguish yourself by taking courage at the right moments. For example by flagging for offside or not doing it when a teams plans an attack. But also by giving advice to the center ref in difficult situations, like penalty kicks. Or give suggestions about the colour of a card. The most important thing is that your aware of your role during the match.”

Because Boonman had become an international referee, he has more contact with referees from other countries. “It’s very special to meet colleagues from different countries. To hear how everything what has to do with officiating has been organised there.” But he could also learn a lot from talking with his fellow countryman. The Dutch referees went to Turkey in the winter break to prepare for the second half of the season. “We’ve got the opportunity to discuss what went well and what could improve. It’s also a good opportunity to talk about different situations in the game with other refs, just to hear what their opinion is and how they’d judge it.”

Boonman has set his goals straight. “I want to show that I can handle the matches on the highest level. The Fifa has to choose the best assistants for the final tournament of the European Championship and the World CUp. I’ve to prove that they need to pick me.”

As most of the Dutch referees, Boonman is also favouring use of technology. “Goal line technology would definately be a plus for football. I’m a proponent of technology which leads to better decision making.”

The Dutch AR wants to give you, readers, an important advice: “The most important thing is that you’ve pleasure in refereeing. Try to do everything to achieve the goals you’ve set, whatever they are. And one more thing: every person likes to compare himself with another. Yet the problem is that they do it most of the time with the wrong person.”