SPORTS FANS ARE always looking for more accountability from referees and, while that generally involves a call for officials to answer questions in the wake of controversial decisions, one Swedish referee has decided that Facebook is a good way of getting his message out.
Mohammed Al-Hakim is a referee in the Allsvenskan, Sweden’s top flight, and launched his new initiative with the admission he should have given a penalty in a recent game between IFK Norrkoping and AIK.
Al-Hakim told Swedish football site Fotbollskanalen: “I believe in openness and dialogue.
“The main idea is that I want to create interest [in what we do] and I think the football family can gain from getting a better insight and understanding of a referee’s situation.
“I also want the page to inspire more people to become referees, which is an important part of football.”
Of the contentious decision that helped launch his page, Al-Hakim said:
“I should have given a penalty yesterday. Period. Now I have seen what you surely have seen already. I’ve seen the replays a few times and looked at stills and different angles.
“Because what it is about for me, is I want to learn something and try to understand why I did what I did.
“I will never be right all the time but it is important to minimise the mistakes and make sure that I am right in the important moments.”
