The Finale

I am on my last flight before I arrive in Vancouver. I have been travelling now for about 15 hours, and I still have almost 4 hours left before I get home. It has been an exhausting day and I am very much looking forward to sleeping in my own bed tonight.

This was a very difficult trip for me, although I must admit, it definitely got better in the second week. It is always hard to be away from home, but it is even more difficult when you are in an environment that is so drastically different from your everyday life and you don’t have your usual support network with you. I like to think that I am a pretty strong person, but it is amazing to realize how much of your strength comes from the people in your life. Fortunately, in the second week I was able to make some very good friends, friends that will be friends for life, and this gave me a huge boost.

Since the reason I was in Serbia, in the first place, was to referee, I guess it is important that I talk about that aspect of my trip. The caliber of soccer was not as high as it was at the U17 World Cup, but there were definitely some very good teams there. Overall, I was happy with my performance in the 3 games that I refereed. I feel that I showed what I was capable of, and the feedback that I finally got, although only in the last 2 days, was that all of my match observers were very happy with me. I also got, and only the last 2 days, some very positive compliments from the assistants that I worked with. As for my appointments, you never really have any control over what matches you are assigned to, but being appointed as the 4th official on the final match is something that I am proud of. It is always a great experience to be part of a final game. The game itself wasn’t very interesting as Korea beat Japan 4-1 and they pretty much dominated the game. The referee was from France, and she did a very good job.

As for the rest of my trip, it was a humbling experience. I have to admit, that when it comes to world events and politics, I’m kind of a bonehead, so going to Serbia, I wasn’t really current on the past events. I had heard bits and pieces of the problems that this country faced but nothing prepared me for seeing it first hand. In the first week, before I really knew any of the locals, I could only make an opinion based on what I saw with my own eyes, and it was sad. There were many buildings that had been destroyed by the bombings and many of them were still standing, in some state or another. Once we started to become friends with the local referees, we began to hear the stories of that it was like from their firsthand experiences. It must have been absolutely awful to be a young child growing up in the middle of a war that you can’t understand. To be playing at the park with sirens and bombs and gunfire going off all around you. I can’t imagine…really I can’t. When they first began to talk, I felt so sorry for them, so sad, but as you listen, you realize…that is exactly the opposite of what they want you to feel. They don’t want your pity, or your sympathy, because they aren’t ashamed. Never before have a meet people who are so proud. They have no hatred in their hearts, they have no resentment, they only want to live their lives to the fullest to enjoy the time they have with their friends and family. They live a very hard life, and money is very very sparse in Serbia, but they are not embarrassed of their situations, it is simply the way it must be, and they don’t complain. Jokingly, one night, I was making fun of a couple of the guys who were 30 and still living at home, but the reality of the situation is that it is simply impossible for them to move out. They don’t make enough to support themselves. The cost of living is very similar to Vancouver, but their salary is less that ¼ of what we make. I can’t imagine, truly, I can’t. The whole time we were there, they insisted on paying for everything…food, drinks, gifts, and I can’t imagine what a financial stress that would have been on them, but they wouldn’t have it any other way. Their one and only goal was to ensure that we all had a good time, that we saw their country in a positive light, and that they were great hosts. I would have to say that they did all of that and more.

At the beginning of this trip I was counting down the days until I would get to come home, and I am still happy to be going home, but I am so glad that I had this experience. Not only did I gain more international experience for my refereeing career, but I learned about a nation of people who are so amazing. They should all be so proud of who they are, and if I am able to live my life, even half as well as they do, I will be a much better person. I am humbled. Thank you to the entire Serbian Football Association and especially to those from Belgrade who gave up their lives to be the best hosts a visitor could have! You should all be so proud of yourselves

I Got Stung By a Bee

Yesterday we went to the lake and I got stung by a bee. That sucked!

I am just leaving the hotel for the final match where I will be the 4th official. I am really happy about this appointment. It is always an honour to be part of a final and I guess it means that I have not screwed up too much! hehehe. I am excited to be coming home and 1 more sleep before I board my plane. I have to run downstairs for my final gourmet meal...yay...last lunch!

I will let you know how the final game went. I hope all is well at home

A Quick Update

I haven't written for the past 2 game days, but I don't have much time so I will give you only a brief update. On game day 3 I refereed the game between Ireland and France. It was an important game for the group stages as a win would allow either team to go through. The field was in very bad shape, but it held up ok until it started to rain. Then it became a bit of a disaster. Thankfully there was only 10min left. France won the game 1-0.

Yesterday I was the 4th official on the quarterfinal match between Brazil and Great Britian. This was an exciting game as Brazil scored early, and GBR came back to tie it up in the 81st min. GBR won in penalties.

I am sorry that this is so short, but I am running out the door to do some sightseeing, and hopefully to the beach. I am tring desperately to get a tan because I am actually whiter than when I left....I know, unacceptable!

4 more days....yay!

And the Dream Ends...

Last night we went to the opening ceremonies for the 25th Annual Universiade Games. The whole thing lasted about 2 ½ hours and was pretty good. The most painful part was the introduction of all the flags for each country. Luckily for me (being sarcastic here), this was the record-breaking year for the number of participants in Universiade! Yay! There are 145 countries taking part in the different sports, so, for 1 hour (not even exaggerating) I watched a volunteer walk in with a sign for each country, followed by the flag bearer. There must have been a better why to do it…I don’t know, maybe just put the names on a screen somewhere…works for me! The highlight of the opening ceremonies was when Nemanja Vidic (plays for Manchester United) came out at the end to wish everyone good luck. He is soooo dreamy!

Oh, I forgot to tell you, just before we left for the opening ceremonies, there was a knock at my door. I open it to find….my roommate…..yay! Now, instead of my 5x8 foot square, I have been reduced to 2.5x4 feet of pure bliss. It is awful. Seriously, I’m pretty sure that my closet at home has more space than I do. The funniest part is that nobody even knew she was coming, she had no games, and in fact, the tournament had already started. Everything got sorted out, and voila…14th referee. And my dream of having my own rool is over :(

The next morning I got up at 6:30am to get ready to leave for my game. The van picked us up at 7:30am and we were on our way. The stadium was in another village that was pretty far away, which is why we had to leave so early. Problem is, at that time, there is no traffic so we were there by 8:15am for our 10:30 am kickoff. We even beat the volunteers there, who they actually bused in from Belgrade. I have never seen so many volunteers before…there is something like 10 000 volunteers for this tournament. I’m sure that they must outnumber the athletes 2 to 1. Anyways, we arrive very early and go and sit in the restaurant for…you guess it…coffee! I had an orange juice.

The game itself was pretty good. Japan and France are both decent teams and they battled pretty hard. I was busy as a 4th official because there were 6 yellow cards, and each team used all 4 of their substitutions. Also, there were 2 major injuries during the game. The game ended up being tied 0-0 so we had to take penalty kicks which will be used only in the event of a tie-breaker between the teams.

After the game we sat for an hour….again, waiting for the paperwork to be finished and then we headed back to the hotel. After lunch my crew (referee and 2 assistants) took be to visit 2 of the major football stadiums here in Belgrade. First we went to Partisan, which is where the final will be held next Friday. Then we went to the rival club Red Star and had a tour of the stadium and the museum. I have to say, it was very impressive. The number of trophies and pictures, and history in their museum is amazing. They even have a man, whose job is to give tours and update all the stats, etc for the club. He is like a curator (is that the right word?) The president of the Red Star also came up to meet me, and we took a picture with him. It was very nice. After the tour we went to watch the Mens game between Serbia and Great Britain. It was Ok, GBR won 1-0 and Serbia just looked content to lose, which surprised me because they are the host team.

I came back to the hotel for dinner, and of course after everyone wanted to go for coffee, but I decided to pass…I know, I’m so antisocial….must be because I am shy!

Let the Games Begin…

I am sorry for the delay in updating my blog, I’d like to say that it’s because I have been busy, but it is probably fairer to say that I have just been lazy. Before I get started though, I must tell you about this weird phenomenon that happens to me whenever I travel for soccer. For some reason, and it happens every time, after about 3 days, I am unable to form a complete sentence when I talk. I spend so much time speaking broken English and trying to use the simplest words to explain things, that I completely lose my ability to form a sentence or even use “normal” vocabulary. I find myself speaking with only nouns or verbs. For example, I will often say…you like? Or …is good? Or….is problem, no? Even when I speak to someone who can understand English, or fellow Canadians, I speak in this broken English. I find myself using these words that I never use in my everyday life, but they are understood by people with limited English, so I use them. I’m sure it is actually quite funny to listen to, although it becomes very frustrating for anyone that I speak to back home, because they feel like I talk to them as though they are stupid….so funny! So….if I begin to use bizarre words, or fragmented sentences, please don’t be offended…I know you are not stupid!

Ok then, since we have that cleared up, I will recap the beginning of the tournament. The tournament started on Tues June 30th. We received our appointments on Monday afternoon and I found out that I would referee the game between Korea and Germany. This was a good match for me because I refereed each of those teams twice in New Zealand, so I am familiar with their style of play. My game was at 5:30pm in a stadium called Vozdovaz which was only about 20 km away. I was suppose to leave the hotel at 3:20pm to arrive at the stadium at 4pm. Well….the traffic was so bad that it took us almost an hour and a half to arrive at the stadium. We actually left a bit early, which was good, because we needed all the time we could get! The traffic in this city is crazy! I consider myself a pretty good driver, I know, all women say this, and all men roll their eyes, but honestly, I am a good driver! You could not pay me enough to drive in Belgrade. I can’t believe that there aren’t more accidents, seriously. People are so aggressive and angry. I feel like I am taking my life in my hands every time I get in a car.

Anyways, we arrived at the stadium at 4:30pm, and from there it is chaos. Although, I am learning that in this country, chaos is normal, and yelling is talking. We arrived and people are running around and asking questions, which, of course, are in Serbian, so I just smile. My 4th official and my assistants are both Serbian so they help out, and take care of everything for me…it was great. In terms of weather, I have been really lucky as it has been raining off and on for the past 3 days, so it is a bit cooler than normal. The game itself is good. Korea scored the 1st goal in the 27th min off a free kick. The game stays 1-0 for the rest of the 1st half, and until about the 76th min of the second half when Korea scores a second goal. This seemed to knock the wind out the German team as they allow 2 more goals in the next 10 mins to lose 4-0 to Korea. There were no problems in the match, only 1 caution to each team. I’m not sure what the “delegate” thought of my game. I think it was OK because he smiled and said “good”, but this is all. Maybe he means “good, that is over”…heheh…who knows!

After the game we have to wait an hour for the delegate to fill in the game sheet and type it into the computer. This took forever…it was so painful. There were all these questions and he didn’t know how to answer them because they were in English and the girl who was helping him didn’t know anything about soccer. I was so hungry, seriously, I was about to walk back to the hotel, but I knew that all I would have waiting for me was fish and fries, our typically nightly meal. No need to rush for that! Finally we left the stadium and headed back…but of course, on our way home our driver got lost and had to turn around 3 times. Good thing he is driving the VIPs!

Overall I felt pretty good about my game. Although the level of soccer was not very high, the style was very predictable, which made the game easy to read. The players were there to play, and it was only for me, to call what I needed to…it was good.

The following morning we had a “meeting”. I hesitate to call it a meeting because we literally sat in the room for 5 mins, the head of the Serbian Appointments Committee asked if there were any problems, we said “no”, and then we were finished! Strangest meeting I have ever had! After the meeting the appointments were posted for Game Day 2. I am appointed to be the 4th official between Japan and France. The referee is Daniela, who was my 4th official I am looking forward to this game as it is a chance to watch another official and the game itself should be very interesting.

We are attending the opening ceremonies tonight. I am just excited to be out of the hotel and do something different. So far, all I have done is go for coffee…I swear, these people go for coffee 4 or 5 times a day. I hate coffee.