Q: When did you start refereeing in football? Are you still active?
Péter: I started my refereeing career in 1994 and became a FIFA Beachsoccer referee in 2007. I refereed the Euro Cup final in 2008. I finished my referee career and my FIFA refereeing career in 2014 as I moved to China related to my professional career.
István: I have been a football referee since 1995 and I have been refereeing in the Hungarian first division for 18 years. In 2007 I became a FIFA referee and I am still active in Europa League and Champions League matches.
Q: Do you see similarities between refereeing in football and refereeing in teqball? Is it a good opportunity for referees in other sports to complement their skills and opportunities by refereeing in teqball as well?
Péter: As I already experienced the differences between Futsal, football (soccer) and beachsoccer, I clearly see the similarities and as well the differences. A respected referee must have multiple abilities and must present his capabilities on the pitch and out of the pitch as well. This is a long journey and hard work behind the scenes. In teqball, what the audience see is the quality of decisions such as in all other sports. The speciality of teqball refereeing is definitely the speed of the game and what is similar to other sports is the perfect knowledge of the rules and a lot of practice. If someone has the motivation to invest energy and wants to grow and develop together with teqball she or he will have great experiences for sure.
István: There are a lot of abilities that are essential to become a good referee in football and also teqball. A good referee must have a perfect knowledge of the rules. She or he must have good concentration, strong decision-making ability and excellent communication on and off the field as well. All of these skills are needed in both sports to become a successful referee.
Referees who come from other sports will of course enjoy a small advantage because of their experience, but this is not a condition. Anyone can start this beautiful career and because teqball is a very new and rapidly evolving sport, referees have a great opportunity to reach the international level.
Q: What is your plan for the development of teqball referees in the long term? What would you advise for those interested in becoming teqball referees?
Péter & István:
In January 2021 a Referee Development Programme was launched by FITEQ. The scope and the target of the programme is to evaluate and assess the level of national and international teqball refereeing and to further develop FITEQ refereeing standards.
Within the programme new elements will be introduced as well, such as a talent programme, a restricted FITEQ refereeing collaboration platform and new practical and theoretical training elements.
We are already got in touch with many of the National Federations in order to find a suitable person in each country to work with on the development of the referees and provide them with technical and professional support as a National Refereeing Coordinator.
