Refereeing in Ukraine: the story from Andrii Slipukha

How’s Refereeing in Ukraine? In this blog post you’ll read the interesting story of how Andrii Sliphuka (19) tries to improve as a referee and reach his goals.

But first, check out the video I found online that led to me asking Andrii some questions.

“I am Andrii and I am a referee from Kiev, Ukraine. First my game was in September 2012, so it’s fifth year for me as an official.”

How he got started? “It’s an interesting story. From 2003 till 2012 I played football in regional team. Every half of the year we had a football match between parents and their sons. And of course, we needed a referee. I officiated for the first time there and until now it is one of the most interesting things I do.”

Refereeing in Ukrain u17 championship

“I’m refereeing on a u17 championship in Ukraine. Every weekend my friends and family will know that, when they woke up, I’ll be giving a start signal on the field somewhere in the country. Refereeing means early wake-ups, about 250 now, because games are played all around my country. My career also consists of around 800 different trips, many many whistles and happiness when you know you’ve done a great job. That’s what my weekend looks like during the season.”

Academy for referees

Andrii wants to get some international experiences and help, for example via the Referee Academy by Tournaments Abroad. He is going to officiate in the Paris World Cup and get mentored there. “The academy will be very important for me, because it gives me new opportunities. It also means new places, languages and football cultures, which I want to discover. There I will hear a lot of interesting and useful information, which I prefer to use in my country and our observers will positively evaluate this.”

Gaining experience abroad

“The Paris World Cup will be my first abroad experience, but not the last this year. In 2017 I am going to visit Lisboa, Saint-Petersburg, Russia; Toronto and Montreal, Canada; Paris, France, Poland and hope that I will be choosen for elite-tournament in Prague, Czech Republic. If I do it at all, my referee and social level will grow-up and it helps me to open new opportunities around the world.

Useful tips for referees

“Three the best tips, which I heard from my coach (he’s in elite group refs in my country) are:

• each decision must be made only after really seeing it (so no guessing of what might have happened);
• maximum use of communication skills to control the game. You will always have a time to show the card.
• be near a moment at an optimal distance. Then the most controversial decision will be perceived more credibly.

Share your tips

Please share tips that are useful for others.