South African referee Damon is living his dream

PRETORIA - South African football referee Jerome Damon is living his dream.

For the second time in his career, he has been considered good enough to officiate at the highest level, the World Cup and - so to say the cherry on top - the World Cup is being held in his home country South Africa.

Speaking at Sunday’s media day at the Kievits Kroon Country Estate, where the referees are based during the June 11 - July 11 finals, the 38-year-old told the German Press Agency (DPA)that he considered the competition to be special.

“The World Cup in Africa, the first one, is very, very special. It is something that will never be repeated again, there will never be another first World Cup in Africa and the fact that it is here on home turf in South Africa it’s a big, big honour. It is a big privilege to be part of this.”

The experienced referee said that he expected no favours from the sports’ controlling body FIFA just because he was South African. “Everyone of us as we stand here, we are all dressed the same way. So we will all be treated the same.”

But he also does not think he will be under any more pressure because he is the home-boy. “There will be different pressures in different games with different situations, but it will be the same for all.”

He said that part of the preparations for tournaments such as the World Cup was getting to know the teams in advance. “We referees chat to one another about the way certain teams play.

“We have been consulted about how some of the African teams play. We consult each other when we officiate teams from another confederation that we are not familiar with.

“Previously we were given a DVD by the technical studies group with specifics on how some teams play their playing formation, on decisions of the coach and on their tactics.”

Damon said it was important that referees know the teams they officiate. “Once you know those things, you adapt in the way you run, the way you position yourself.

“For instance, if both teams have a big midfield that is packed, then you know that you are not going to run through the midfield or take your time going through the midfield. You will be coming through at pace so that you don’t get into the mix of things with the players.

“If they are playing out wide with pace, you know that you will be on your bike the moment player X gets the ball in midfield as he is going to pump it up through the midfield, and that is going to be the next pass and so you need to get there as fast as you can.”

He said that the finals in South Africa were special in many ways, one of them the traditional African trumpet called vuvuzela, which will be heard at every game throughout the tournament.

“It is a real concern that players might not hear the whistle and we have to see how do players respond to all of that. That will be an interesting challenge.”

Damon, who teaches English at Bridgetown High School in Athlone on the Cape Flats, said that there was a terrific camaraderie amongst the referees.

“In Germany, for instance, when Graham Poll made the mistake of giving a player three yellow cards, he got lots and lots of support from many different people.”

However, making a mistake that could cost a team the World Cup is not something the soft-spoken Damon is concerned about. “I certainly have no nightmares about it,” he says with a laugh.

“When I put my head on the pillow at night, I sleep. If you allow fears to come into your psyche and into your psychological preparation then you are messed, you are stuffed and you might as well go home right straight away.”

Like virtually all other referees, Damon has made mistakes. He once sent off Nigerian international goalkeeper Greg Etafia in a South African league match for a deliberate handball.

“When I saw it on television later, I said, ‘Oops, the ball came off his head, he missed it completely’. But I did the right thing, wrote my report and an additional report to the authorities and I said, ‘Listen, I got that one horribly wrong, I cocked that one up deluxe, it actually came off his head’ and just left it at that.”

Even if Damon will not be having any sleepless nights about making a major blunder at the World Cup finals, he will no doubt be hoping that there is none and that he gets as many matches to officiate as possible.

After all, it is not very often that an English teacher gets to blow the whistle for some of the biggest names in world football in the World Cup finals that are being staged in his home country.