Go to the eye doctor. Bad judge, bad person. Kill yourself.
Mats Helkamo has had his share of inappropriate behavior on and around the football field.
Concussions are not uncommon in ball sports. Often, the yelling is directed at the referee after a decision that parents or coaches don’t like. For many young referees, the pressure becomes too heavy and their careers end too early.
22-year-old Helkamo is one of those who has decided to continue despite the taunts and threats.
– This is a big problem. Any young referee who quits because of this is too many.
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Field spittoon
Mats Helkamo, who judges in the men’s foursome and the Junior SM series, has gotten used to being yelled at over time.
However, there have been incidents in the past that have made him wonder why he exposes himself to bad behavior from viewers.
He remembers a match in the early stages of his refereeing career.
– It rained and thundered, and I was shouted at throughout the game. My only thought was that I want the match to end so I can get out of here.
Helkamo has never experienced physical violence or the threat of it, but he knows it occurs.
– It’s a really tough situation for a 16-year-old, for example, when you have to deal with what happened yourself after the match. Young judges are often at a tender age, and this can have consequences not only in their own role as a judge, but also in ordinary life.
Helkamo considers the behavior of adults to be irresponsible. Even if his own child is playing on the field and match events can arouse emotions, he does not see any justifying reason for the behavior.
– I think adults have no right to shout at young referees. They must take responsibility and behave properly.
There is a looming shortage of referees
In the past season, almost 34,000 football matches for over 12-year-olds were played in Finland, judged by 2,000 referees.
Since most matches require three referees – the head referee and two assistants – the statistics show a significant shortage.
In some areas, the shortage of referees is acute. The reason is the high rate of termination of young referees.
The Football Association has followed the development with worried expressions and wants to bring about a change. The Federation’s Chief Referee Johan Holmqvist leads an investigation that maps the causes of the phenomenon.
– I would say that disrespect for referees is the biggest reason why many quit, says Holmqvist.
– Especially for new referees, the atmosphere of the matches is a problem. When you’re new and you’re harshly criticized, it’s easy to quit before your career has even properly started.
This year, Palloliitto has trained almost 800 new referees. When you consider that there were a total of 2,000 referees in Finland last year, the number of newcomers is large.
In other words, the total amount should rise quickly – but this is not the case.
– Right now we can manage all the matches. However, there are matches where we would like to use three referees, but we have to settle for one in order to have enough referees everywhere.
Young people need support
The Finnish Football Association’s investigation has revealed that the most active 10 percent of the referees judge 40 percent of all matches. The average age of this tenth (42 years) is 17 years higher than the average age of all referees.
You have to be able to keep young referees around for longer.
– Take, for example, a junior match with a 15-year-old referee. It would be very important that all adults on the side of the field, including coaches and parents, understand that both players and referees are just developing in this match. Everyone on the field needs support and encouragement, not shouting and mocking, says Holmqvist.
In this context, the Head of Referees of the Football Association directs his eyes to the clubs, hoping that they will understand that they too should have the responsibility of supporting the referees.
Other Nordic countries have a system in place that guarantees young referees peace of mind. Holmqvist says that in Sweden and Norway, for example, so-called “soccer hosts” have been introduced in connection with junior matches.
– This could perhaps be considered in Finland as well. This would mean that a person from the home team would be named who is responsible for everyone behaving properly during the match.
Changes visible at the club level
Actions have been taken at the club level. In Sipoo, the local club Sibbo-Vargarna works actively to ensure that the new referees and referees feel safe and respected on the field.
– We make sure that the young referees always have an adult to support them in their first matches, whose task it is to intervene immediately if players or adults behave disrespectfully on the field, says the executive director of the club’s football division Heidi Jernmark.
In its winter series, the club has also set clear boundaries for how players and adults should behave during matches.
– In junior football, everyone is learning and everyone makes mistakes. Those mistakes should also be allowed for game directors, Jernmark states.
– We consider it very important that the atmosphere is positive and encouraging, and we want everyone to respect that. Because without referees we don’t have a game.
Mats Helkamo is packing his bags. The evening’s program includes a match in the men’s foursome.
Every time he puts on the referee’s gloves, he feels proud.
Thanks to his experience, he is now able to primarily see the positive aspects of his hobby instead of the negative ones.
– I have learned to improve my social skills. How to react, what to say and how, as well as how to handle criticism.
Helkamo emphasizes that the threshold for quitting young referees rises significantly if they feel that they are respected.
– I encourage everyone to praise if the judge has done well, especially at the junior level. Say it directly to the judge. You don’t get a lot of positive feedback, and it means a lot when someone comes and thanks you for a job well done.
The domestic football season culminates on Tuesday, when the Finnish women’s national football team meets Slovakia in the Nations League. The match is live on TV2, Areena and the app from 19:45.