SOCCER. Eric Rosenfelder, the referee who came to the aid of the clubs

His phone did not stop vibrating at the bottom of his pocket on Monday. And frankly, he wasn’t expecting it at all.

By offering, via social networks, to all his referee counterparts to officiate for free last weekend and to fill out the same expense report, Mertzwillerois Eric Rosenfelder, former federal referee now evolving in District, found himself swept away in a media-football spiral.

Shared tens of thousands of times, the photos of the “receipts” for arbitration fees have gone far beyond the borders of the Grand Est. Joined last night, the Bas-Rhinois justified an initiative which created enormous enthusiasm, on and off the pitch, but which did not please everyone.

“I also think of the referees who need this money. I understand them 1000%. “

Eric Rosenfelder, how did you come up with the idea for this call?

When the prefect of Bas-Rhin announced last week the new health precautions, and in particular the closure of refreshments for sports clubs, I was with Stéphane Weber, the president of my club of AS Uhrwiller. He explained to me that the situation was becoming frankly catastrophic for clubs already very financially impacted since March. It moved me.

So I thought to myself that as a referee, maybe I could make a small gesture by starting by not asking for any fees this weekend. With my colleague Cyril Suss, we decided to offer this initiative to other referees via social networks. It spread like this …

Was the appeal heard by the referees in the region?

It is difficult to know precisely. I know that at least thirty arbitrators filled out the model sheet that we proposed. But others simply let the clubs know orally that they would not ask for anything. I don’t know how many matches have been refereed for free. I also know that a lot of umpires would have liked to do it, but couldn’t. I am thinking in particular of young people, students, for whom this constitutes a little pocket money. And also to those who do not have a job. I understand them 1000% and my approach was not aimed at them.

What were the reactions of the clubs over the weekend?

I can already talk about my case. Sunday, I refereed in District 5 in Niederbronn. As soon as I arrived, I told the president that I did not want to be defrayed. While I was checking the licenses, she came to the locker room and explained to the players the meaning of my approach. Then they all applauded me.

“Spectators gave me ” bravos the referee ””

During the meeting, the same! Spectators gave me “bravos the referee”. It warmed my heart. On other courts, it seems it was the same. For once, we were applauded! Usually everything is always our fault …

Have the regional football authorities reacted to your initiative?

No, I haven’t had anyone on the phone. I don’t know how they took it at all. Maybe they would have preferred that I did it all differently, but, you know, I’m not a pro at all of this. We did it with the heart, in two or three days. I also know that certain referees did not appreciate too much because those who took the money could have been taken for the flu. Again, it was not our will. The best part, of course, is that the Leagues move quickly to help the clubs. They need it…

Are you going to do it again next weekend?

We won’t be making any more calls. I will do it on a personal basis, that’s all. We will say that it was a punch action. I will let the competent authorities act.

Did you imagine that this initiative would take on such a scale, especially on social networks?

Frankly, never in my life. It’s just amazing. The stuff has been relayed tens of thousands of times! They haven’t stopped calling me since this weekend. Even France Info tried to reach me.

I admit that all of this scares me a bit because I am not very comfortable answering journalists’ questions. I try to be careful and repeat above all that it was just to give the clubs a hand. Nothing more…