Up Close … with Keren Yocette, football referee |02 September 2014

‘Representing my country is the greatest honour’

By Sedrick Nicette

Usually in sports, it is the athletes and competitors who always get all the attention and praise for their efforts and performances. However, those who govern and control these games are rarely recognised despite putting in as much effort as the competitors themselves.

In football, referees often come under scrutiny for bad performances, but rarely receive praise for their good performance in such a high pressure environment.

It is for this reason I have chosen young and improving football referee, Keren Yocette, as my subject for our Up Close column today.

Keren is a 22-year-old resident of La Louise, where he has spent all his life. He started his education as usual from crèche at Plaisance and continued his primary and secondary education in the same district before moving on to the Seychelles Institute of Technology (SIT) to study for his certificate in plumbing in 2009.

“My interest in football began back in 2007 when I was still in secondary school,” says Keren. “At that time the football federation had a programme to train young referees. I had never really been involved in sports at that time, but when I heard about that I decided that I should try it out.”

He explains it was at that point that he approached his Physical Education (P.E) teacher Jeris César to ask about how he would go about applying for the programme.

“I then filled in the application form and sent it, but after three months I did not receive any feedback,” Keren says. “So, I took it upon myself to go to the football federation headquarters and find out what was happening.”

There Keren met the referees’ coordinator, who at that time was Eddie Maillet. They met and talked and that’s where it all began for Keren.

“Being a referee is a tough job, you have to remain constantly vigilant for the duration of the whole match, while having the mental toughness to make the right decisions despite pressure from players and supporters,” Keren says.

“The problem is that some people feel that the fitness aspect is too much as you have to maintain a certain level when refereeing, while others are put off by other factors such as bullying and abuse from players and supporters,” Keren says about the lack of young referees in the sport.

“You have to go through all these experiences in order to grow and reach higher levels,” he adds.

Keren says that preparation to be a referee is very demanding, as there is much to learn about the game, such as the rules, sanctions, etc…
“The laws are the most important part as there are always changes and you have to constantly keep yourself up to date with them,” he says.

“At the same time you have to take physical tests all through the year to keep your Fifa license,” he adds.

Recalling his first refereeing experience, Keren talks about his first top flight match, where he took charge of an Airtel Cup match between St Michel and The Lions.

“This match was the launching pad for me, as before then I had only officiated in youth matches and lower divisions,” he says.

“It helped propel me to where I am and it is something I will not forget as there was a lot of pressure on me as I was new to this level, but I only had to maintain my concentration and give a good account of myself.”

Keren made his international debut in 2012, when he was selected among the officials for the CJSOI in Comoros and he described it a great experience and to see refereeing in a different way.

Keren explains that refereeing doesn’t leave him with much free time, as after work he usually goes for training every day and during the weekends he has his matches to take charge of, so he does not really get much time to indulge in other interests.

Referees often come under a lot of pressure from mistakes made during matches and I was keen to find out what Keren has to say about it.

“Well, officials do make mistakes, although not every mistake can affect the outcome of a game. But we as referees here in Seychelles, we do accept when we make mistakes and we have people to help us address these issues after the games,” says Keren.

With refereeing now being aided by new technologies, such as the goal-line technology and the vanishing spray which we witnessed during the World Cup, Keren gives his opinion about these developments although they have yet to reach our shores.

“For me I think all these things can help, as referees are humans after all and can make mistakes. I would make reference to a match at the 2010 world cup, where Germany were playing England. There was a shot by Lampard that bounced off the upright and over the line, but was not awarded. In this instance the laws state that if the referee does not see it, the assistant is the one that can make the call, but it is very difficult as not everyone has the same reaction time, so these technologies will really help referees in their job.”

Keren’s advice to other youths who could be interested in refereeing is: “This is something that can take you far; you get to travel to various places and you get to represent your country, and for me representing my country is the greatest honour. I will not say that it is easy, but we all have our abilities and I wish that the youths take the challenge as there are facilities and people to help you make it.”

“Anyone interested can come by the federation’s headquarters and ask to see the referees’ coordinator or they can simply call 4601160 and ask to speak to him and there he will guide them,” Keren adds.

It is not an easy task to be a referee but Keren has shown that it is fulfilling and rewarding and we hope to see many more youths aspiring to take up a sport, be it as an athlete or an official as they both have their rewards in the end.