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Listen on stands to ref’s explanations during match
Referee’s got a lot to endure during a soccer match. Fans, coaches and players are the biggest critics, even if they’re most of the time not good informed of what actually happened. That’s why the referee organisation of West-Friesland initiated a exhibition match on the 8th of November where former professional referee Dick Jol explains all his crucial decisions publicly via the stadium sound system. “It also forces a referee to declare his decisions in clear and concise terms and, if necessary, give some extra explanation”, says initiator Rodric Leerling in a statement. The referee came up with the idea due to his life in the New York area, where…
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‘It feels good to do something back for Japan’
Dick Jol, former international referee, officiated in a charity game between Japanese players and Ajax yesterday for the victims in Japan. “The atmosphere was fantastic.” “Ten years ago I lived for four months in Tokio, Japan. The people there are great. They’ve done so much for me, were so hospitable. It feels good to give the people from Japan something back.” Besides refereeing in the Asian country Jol also changed and renewed the referee committee. “The system was not good at that time. People who give their friends a good assessment. I was new there, so could appoint new assessors and that resulted in complete different marks.” Jol expects sore…
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German Markus Merk best referee of last decade
German referee Markus Merk has been ranked as the best referee of the last ten years by the International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS). An explanation how the referees got ranked is written on the IFFHS website. Most referees (44) on the list with 63 come frome Europe, with most representatives from Italy (7). The only Dutch referee is Dick Jol with 14 points, the same as Michael Riley and Carlos Simon. The only woman in the list is Nicole Petignat on place 54. One day earlier IFFHS named Howard Webb as best referee of 2010, followed by Asian surprise Ravshan Irmatov. UPDATE: IFFHS has also added the…
