High risk of emergency in speed running - Photo: QUANG THINH
Refereeing the top Vietnamese football tournament such as V-League is always the goal of those who are passionate about refereeing. Training a national standard referee is a long and arduous process of 5-10 years. To become a FIFA-class referee is even more difficult and fierce.
Race with fate
As the season is about to start, referees and assistants must prepare themselves to participate in training courses, focusing on physical fitness tests and professional exams. The physical fitness test according to FIFA regulations is the basic standard, a certificate for a referee to be able to practice in the next 3-4 months of the second half of the season.
In the FIFA fitness test, the referee has two running parts: Sprinting and Interval, in which the Interval part is more physical. The referee will run 75m in 15 seconds, then walk 25m in 18-20 seconds. Repeat this 40 times, covering a total distance of 4,000m. The last part is when the body loses the most energy.
Referee Tran Dinh Thinh fainted at the end of the sprint while trying to complete the distance. Referee Vu Phuc Hoan also fainted in the group of 4 runners and was lucky to make it through. The referees assessed the weather in Hanoi on the morning of August 3 as harsh, everyone had to try harder than they could to complete the race.
Referees and assistants failing the physical fitness test every time is nothing new because it happens every time. However, people dying while running is the problem. Seven years ago, referee Duong Ngoc Tan (from Yen Bai ) also died after a physical fitness test at Hang Day Stadium before the 2018 season.
After passing the physical test, 99% of referees and assistants will be assigned tasks by the Vietnam Football Federation and VPF Company. For the majority, referees and assistant referees are "side jobs". Unless there are no personal plans or organizational work, referees can take on the task of going to the field on weekends.
Former FIFA referee Tran Dinh Thinh - Photo: QUANG THINH
Pressure on V-League referees
If a referee fails to complete the pre-season training, which includes a physical fitness test, he or she will not be eligible for assignment. No one wants this to happen because it is the passion and also the livelihood of those pursuing the refereeing profession.
It is almost certain that if the referee does not meet the physical standards and is not in good health, he will not be able to pass the extremely difficult physical test. If he is lucky enough to pass, when entering the match, the referee will easily make mistakes and will not have enough strength to run for 90 minutes on the field. On average, in each V-League match, the main referee will run from 8-10km, the speed changes continuously and requires quick and accurate reactions to situations on the field.
The referee is still the center of every match, every step, every whistle is monitored by dozens, thousands of people from TV to the stands. If the referee is not in good health, has high professional qualifications, and is not steadfast, then his decisions on the field will hardly be accurate.
The current income of V-League referees is attractive at 8 million VND/90 minutes of main refereeing, 5 million VND/90 minutes as a 4th referee. FIFA referees and good referees are often given priority to referee many matches and to referee important matches.
There was a period of shortage of people, a good referee could officiate 4 matches/month and earn 32 million VND, not including allowances. The recent increase in remuneration for referees by the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) and VPF Company is a source of encouragement, promoting the improvement of referee quality. However, this is truly a job that requires health, high professional level, terrible endurance and not everyone can overcome it.
QUANG THINH
Source: https://tuoitre.vn/khac-nghiet-suat-trong-tai-bat-chinh-v-league-20250804184605259.htm
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