Referee boss on working conditions Wermelinger: "I have respect for the fact that it ends in burn-outs at some point"
In the football talk Heimspiel, referee boss Dani Wermelinger explains why the conditions for Swiss referees urgently need to improve.
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- Swiss referees are the focus of the football talk show Heimspiel.
- Presenter Roman Kilchsperger discusses in the studio with FIFA referee Fedayi San, referee boss Dani Wermelinger and blue News Head of Sport Michael Wegmann.
- Wermelinger explains why a step needs to be taken now in the refereeing system: "You don't just have to talk about money, you also have to talk about conditions."
For once, the focus of the Heimspiel football talk is not on the players, but on the referees. While the football stars in this country receive a good salary from their clubs, the situation is very different for the referees.
"It's impossible for an international referee to work on the side," complains referee boss Dani Wermelinger. "He has to be employed 80 percent of the time and earn 20 percent from an international match."
Wermelinger continues: "In the Super League, we currently have a 20 percent workload. That means only one day off. In the Challenge League, we even have these people working 100 percent," he notes, adding: "That means they certainly need a day to a day and a half off."
The current situation of his protégés gives the 53-year-old from Aargau cause for concern: "That's what I'm worried about, especially in the Challenge League."
The referee on the pitch can and should remain important
"Intensive talks" are being held to improve the situation. "There is an understanding from both the Swiss Football League and the Swiss Football Association. In the end, it's an overall composition of considerations that need to be made."
"We've talked about training plans, we've talked about more training. We have a professional operation in Switzerland, but we are the only amateurs. It's not right that a referee in the Challenge League has to take Friday off because he's not employed," complains Wermelinger.
Michael Wegmann, Head of blue News Sport, interjects that in the end it's simply about financial aspects. "Of course the money is a reason, it's also a negotiation in the end. I also understand the clubs, I am fully aware that they also have financial problems. The financial situation in the association is also tense. But now we have to take a step together, because I really respect the fact that this could end in burn-outs at some point," fears Wermelinger.
