Refereeing, my greatest passion

Refereeing, my greatest passion

When I was a child, like most of my friends, I started playing football in a local team. Sometimes we didn’t have a referee so I was happy to take that role. After several occasions of acting as a referee I realized that I liked it so I decided to train and practice in order to become one., My adventure began in December 2004, when I was 15 years old. A local school here in Rome organized a referee’s course. After following the course, I passed the final exam and I started refereeing in the Young Football Player’s Championship.

The first match to which I was assigned was Boys Rome Vs. Real Milan., two local teams. When I took the field for the first time, It wasn't easy as I thought, and the weather didn't help at all. It was a rainy day and the stadium was full. Among the audience there were also a lot of people who I knew and at that moment I had to be as brave as a lion and blow the whistle for the kick start . For the first ten minutes I couldn't even blow the whistle for the free kick, because I was extremely nervous then the fun got the upper hand and it all ended in the best possible way. I will always carry the memory of this day in my heart.
After the first match I was so looking forward to the next designations. I’ve been in many towns in the province of Rome, refereeing kids of my age.
Last year I was promoted into the second category. I prefer refereeing in this category to the younger one , but it’s more difficult because the football players are much older than me and the audience is sometimes violent. In addition, the matches to which I was assigned are played in towns quite far from Rome. In fact, I often go to towns on the border with Basilicata or Puglia which are around 2 hundred km from here.
The good features of refereeing are more than the negative ones. Through this activity you get to know many people, and become friends. .Often we organize meals, trips to Ischia and we go to see the Naples Teram football match. Referees can enter free in all the Italian stadiums. Also thanks to the money that I earn, I have financial independence without having to ask money to my parents.
The negative features are the immense fatigue it takes to go through the entire match and not having much free time during the week ends . It’s not so easy refereeing matches in the winter with rain and cold and also when we have a fever. The worst part is that it’s difficult to stay calm on the pitch when the fans insult from the stands.
I love football and refereeing. I love what I do and it’s obvious that I want to improve in this field even if my first goal is to take my degree and start my career as a pharmacist.
In the mean time I will do as much as I can to combine my studies with my hobby : only in this way I feel really accomplished in my life.