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No longer a friend of the Italians since 2002: referee Byron Moreno.
Daniel LeuLeaf Maker Sports
Byron Moreno: The Drug Smuggler
June 18, 2002 in Daejeon, South Korea, World Cup round of 16 between the hosts and Italy. Already in the regular 90 minutes, the Ecuadorian referee Byron Moreno stands out with strange decisions, mostly in favor of the home team. But in extra time he goes one better. First he sends Francesco Totti off for an alleged yellow-red swallow, and then he disallows the alleged Italian winner for not being offside.
It comes what has to come. South Korea wins 2-1 and all of Italy has a new hate figure: Byron Moreno.
A year later he resigns. Also because he had noticed time and again in his home country – let’s say it graciously – unorthodox referee decisions.
In September 2010, Moreno saw red himself. He was arrested at JFK Airport in New York trying to smuggle six kilograms of heroin into the United States. He was later sentenced to two and a half years in prison. The Schadenfreude in Italy, it’s huge.
Milestones from 150 years
1873: Ten years after the first football rules, the referee is officially introduced. In the early years he was still a functionary on the sidelines.
1891: Introduction of the linesmen. 105 years later, they are renamed «assistant referees».
1970: The yellow and red cards are used for the first time at the World Cup – the Englishman Ken Aston had the idea at a traffic light. The first player to receive a yellow card is Soviet Russia’s Yevgeny Lovchev.
1993: For decades, the case was clear: the referee wears black. This only changed in the early 1990s.
2012: Introduction of the free kick spray. He made his first big appearance later at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
2016: The introduction of the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) is a milestone. He has been used in the Super League since 2019.
1873: Ten years after the first football rules, the referee is officially introduced. In the early years he was still a functionary on the sidelines.
1891: Introduction of the linesmen. 105 years later, they are renamed «assistant referees».
1970: The yellow and red cards are used for the first time at the World Cup – the Englishman Ken Aston had the idea at a traffic light. The first player to receive a yellow card is Soviet Russia’s Yevgeny Lovchev.
1993: For decades, the case was clear: the referee wears black. This only changed in the early 1990s.
2012: Introduction of the free kick spray. He made his first big appearance later at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
2016: The introduction of the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) is a milestone. He has been used in the Super League since 2019.
Wolf-Dieter Ahlenfelder: The drunk
Yes, it’s true, football writes the best stories. For example, on November 8, 1975. Bundesliga game between Werder Bremen and Hannover 96. The referee at the time: Wolf-Dieter Ahlenfelder.
Because, according to his own statements, he treated himself to a beer and a schnapps for lunch before the game (goose with red cabbage and dumplings), he got drunk that day. With devastating consequences. Already after 32 minutes he whistles at half-time. The Bremen team can still convince him that a half in football lasts at least 45 minutes, but after 44 minutes there is a final break.
Ahlenfelder was otherwise mainly known for his sayings. When the legendary Paul Breitner once said to him, “You whistle like an ass,” the referee countered: “And you play like an ass.”
In 2014 he died at the age of 70, but the name Ahlenfelder lives on. The burger restaurant “Ahlenfelder” has been in Bremen since 2021. One of their specialties? A large selection of beers.
Dougie Smith: The Humorless One
Humor is known to be a matter of taste. The fact that referee Dougie Smith and footballer Paul Gascoigne do not have the same sense of humor was impressively demonstrated on December 30, 1995.
At that time, the referee was given a yellow card in the game between Glasgow Rangers and Hibernian. And what does “Gazza” do? He picks it up – as befits a decent boy – walks leisurely to the referee and “warns” him.
Gascoigne and the spectators laugh heartily. But not Smith. He takes the yellow one grumpily and puts it in his trouser pocket, just to pull it out again and warn Gascoigne. Pretty humorless, Mister Smith!
Sayings about referees
“The players win the game, the referee spoils the game and the coach loses the game – that’s football.”
Ernst Middendorp, German coach
“I didn’t agree with the referee’s decision. So I just called it a mixer with a W. I think that was pretty stupid.”
Erik Meijer, Dutch ex-soccer player
“The problem with referees is that they know the rules, but not the game.”
Bill Shankly, legendary Liverpool manager
“Becoming a referee is out of the question for me. More like something to do with football.”
Lothar Matthäus, German soccer legend
“I don’t want to say anything about the referee’s performance. But it was cheeky what was whistled.”
Stefan Reuter, German ex-soccer player
“The players win the game, the referee spoils the game and the coach loses the game – that’s football.”
Ernst Middendorp, German coach
“I didn’t agree with the referee’s decision. So I just called it a mixer with a W. I think that was pretty stupid.”
Erik Meijer, Dutch ex-soccer player
“The problem with referees is that they know the rules, but not the game.”
Bill Shankly, legendary Liverpool manager
“Becoming a referee is out of the question for me. More like something to do with football.”
Lothar Matthäus, German soccer legend
“I don’t want to say anything about the referee’s performance. But it was cheeky what was whistled.”
Stefan Reuter, German ex-soccer player
Sergej Schmolik: The Youtube Star
The Belarusian was a recognized referee and also refereed European matches. But then came that darn July 5, 2008 league game between Vitebsk and Naftan Navapolatsk.
We don’t know why, but we do know that Schmolik was drunk that day. How do we know? Because we are among the one million people who have watched the video of it on YouTube to date.
Back then, he staggered across the square, hanging his upper body backwards. When the spectators start to cheer, he lets himself be celebrated and casually waves to the audience.
The local media then speak of 2.6 per mille. What is confirmed: It was the last game he whistled. Too bad actually…
Thomas Metzen: The Ambidextrous
If you’re a two-footed footballer, you have an advantage. Anyone who is ambidextrous as a referee, apparently too. In the autumn of 2008 his hour will come.
In the game between Mainz and St. Pauli, Metzen warned the players Florian Bruns and Miroslav Karhan. The extraordinary thing about it: He does it at the same time, because Metzen draws two yellow cards at the same time and shows them with one hand each to one player.
The press thinks the action is great and henceforth calls it “Eifel-Django”. The football association DFB, however, finds it less great and complains that such an act would have placed too much focus on itself. As a result, it was more than a year before Metzen was allowed to referee a Bundesliga 2 game again.
Massimo Busacca: The Stinky Finger
If a footballer gives the opponent, the fans or the referee the finger, the case is clear: Red! sending off! But what if the referee sticks out his middle finger?
The SFV has to ask itself this question in September 2009. In the cup game between Baden and YB, Busacca is covered with abuse from the Bernese fans. At some point it will be too much for the Tessiner, and he makes the Effenberg.
A day later, Busacca shows remorse and says: «My reaction was wrong. I have a role model function. That’s why I very much regret the reaction.” At the same time, however, he complains: “It was a signal. What I wanted to say was: It can’t go on like this anymore. We referees don’t put up with everything.”
But first Busacca had to rest after going swimming in Baden: three suspensions. To this day unique in Swiss football.
Three clumsy referee jokes
1. If a spectator asks the referee after the game is over: “Do you have three seconds?” He nods. “Then tell me everything you know about football.”
2. The footballer asks the referee: “What’s the name of your dog?” He replies: “I don’t even have a dog!” The footballer: «Oh, I’m sorry. Blind – and no dog.”
3. The coach says to the referee after the final whistle: «Nice game today. Too bad you didn’t see it.”
1. If a spectator asks the referee after the game is over: “Do you have three seconds?” He nods. “Then tell me everything you know about football.”
2. The footballer asks the referee: “What’s the name of your dog?” He replies: “I don’t even have a dog!” The footballer: «Oh, I’m sorry. Blind – and no dog.”
3. The coach says to the referee after the final whistle: «Nice game today. Too bad you didn’t see it.”
Michel Vautrot: The forgetful
It has been known since the Desert World Cup at the latest that the phrase “a game lasts 90 minutes” no longer applies. But the fact that extra time can last significantly longer than twice 15 minutes is not thanks to Qatar, but to him. We are talking about Michel Vautrot, a former French referee in a class of its own. “I have no explanation as to why this happened to me,” he said in a recent interview.
By “that” he means the 1990 World Cup semi-final between hosts Italy and Argentina. During extra time, he allowed eight minutes to be replayed in one half. Why is he doing this that day? Because he simply forgot to look at the clock.
But how did it come to this, Herr Vautrot? “I’m actually a master of time. But then I forgot the time. I thank the heavenly referee to this day that no goal was scored in that time.”
A referee trio in Switzerland deserves that
Super/Challenge League: Since 2017, certain arbitrators have received a fixed salary of several 10,000 francs per year. There is also compensation per game.
Promotion League: 1100 francs.
1st League: 900 francs.
2nd league inter: 660 francs.
2nd regional league: 360-450 francs (depending on the travel distance).
Women’s Super League: 400-490 francs (depending on the travel distance).
Super/Challenge League: Since 2017, certain arbitrators have received a fixed salary of several 10,000 francs per year. There is also compensation per game.
Promotion League: 1100 francs.
1st League: 900 francs.
2nd league inter: 660 francs.
2nd regional league: 360-450 francs (depending on the travel distance).
Women’s Super League: 400-490 francs (depending on the travel distance).