Jong ADO – Aruba as assistant referee

Some appointments are too good to ignore. A friend got unfortunately injured and asked if I could replace him in a friendly game Jong ADO – Aruba. The first team is the u23 team from the professional club ADO Den Haag in the city I live in. Aruba came with the national team, and this time mostly players who played in The Netherlands. The coach wanted to see them in action in preparation for a World Cup qualifier against Barbados in June this year.

Last Monday a person from the local referee department called me if I was available for a match on Wednesday. Two teams ended with the same number of points in the league and there was a ‘decision game’ to determine the champion. Was this too good to ignore as well? In my opinion, I should ignore it. I made the promise to assist in the first game and I should not let others down and let them find another AR one day in advance. Turned out to be a good choice. It was quite a nice game, it’s also a good experience to officiate in a stadium. Drinks and some food after the game were well arranged. They took good care of the referees – thanks for that.

How do you get welcomed at football clubs? Do they offer you some drinks? Please share your experiences!

And if you want to see some nice pics of the game. There are a few of me below and the whole photo album is in the FB Group of Remco the photographer. Well worth a look.