A new section has started on the Dutch Referee Blog: Life after refereeing.
This is how I got the idea: Two weeks ago I got an e-mail from a retired Romanian referee, named Daniel Munteanu. He was an international referee and had officiated with René Temmink, a Dutch referee. ‘Got his e-mail address?’, he asked.
I know some refs but not all of them. Little research finally got me in touch with a car dealer with the same name. And yes, it was him. Doing this, I wondered why I shouldn’t let these former referees talk about their refereeing experiences. They both agreed to answer the four questions to give an impression of what they do now and what they did before. Today I’ll publish the first part with the Romanian referee.
Munteanu at the age of 17. Source: his website.
Born: 1960
Country: Romania
Career: 1976: started as a referee; 1986: referee in the third Romanian football League; 1991: referee in the second Romanian football League; 1993: assistant referee in the first Romanian football League; 1996: assistant referee on the FIFA list; 1997: abruptly end of the career due to a stroke.
What do you do now for a living?
Since 1997 I am retired from my job as engineer in Electronics and Telecommunications because of a vascular cerebral attack (stroke). In the present, I am vice-president of the County Referee Committee in Bacau (city in Romania, capital of eponymous region, jth) and implied in referees’ training in my county. I can not travel long distances alone. I also am referee instructor assessor and observer.
How do you look back on your career?
“I look back at more than twenty years of refereeing at all levels with pleasure. I like to watch the pictures taken during the matches and to see now the moments from the respective match.”
“One of the most precious moment of my career is the final match in the European Football Championship under 18. It was in 1996 in Besançon in France. The final was France versus Spain.”
Referee René Temmink (Holland) and his assistant refereees Anthony Zammit (Malta) and Daniel Munteanu (Romania).
Do you miss (professional) refereeing?
“When I was in the hospital after the stroke and the doctor said to me that I will not be able to do any performace in sport, I didn’t believe that. Many years I hoped that I would be in good health and be able of refereeing again.”
“Now I am fitted with my condition. Mister Julian Carosi from England encouraged me to write about the Laws of the game and published my articles in The Football Refereee magazine. I have a mail contact with referee instructors all over the world. It is wonderful to discuss things about refereeing. I am happy because in this world I can give from my overflow without asking for anything.”
What needs to be changed in football/refereeing?
In my opinion, there is too much money in circulation in footballl. Because of this, the interests around matches are very ample and the referee may not make any error; people forgot that the referee is a human and nobody is perfect.”
“In the last number of Schiedsrichter Zeitung, the official magazine of referees in Germany, there is an article with a very adequate title ‘In de Ruhe liegt die Kraft’. It could be translated as ‘In the quiet abides the force’. I didn’t read the article yet, but can say that the referees need tranquility in order to refereee well.”