The referee couple Gunnar Vidarsson and Stefan Arnaldsson from Iceland will be refereeing the first leg match of the 2005/2006 Women's Champions League finals between Krim Ljubljana and Viborg HK. Before the match in Slovenia eurohandball.com....

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The referee couple Gunnar Vidarsson and Stefan Arnaldsson from Iceland will be refereeing the first leg match of the 2005/2006 Women’s Champions League finals between Krim Ljubljana and Viborg HK.

Before the match in Slovenia eurohandball.com contacted the experienced referees to learn more about their career.

Eurohandball.com: You have been international referees for a number of years - do you have a favourite moment/special experience?

Vidarsson & Arnaldsson: Our favourite moment is to have matches in a sports hall full of enthusiastic fans and with a positive atmosphere for the handball game.

Eurohandball.com: What is the best part of being an international referee?

Vidarsson & Arnaldsson: For us it is a big pleasure to meet other referee couples from different countries, to discuss handball with them and our lives next to refereeing.

Eurohandball.com: How did you get into refereeing?

Vidarsson & Arnaldsson: We both started off playing handball ourselves. After the active career we both went on the sideline as trainers and eventually as referees. Mostly we got into refereeing because our clubs wanted more referees.

Eurohandball.com: You are away from home a lot, is this difficult to cope with?

Vidarsson & Arnaldsson: Yes, sometimes it is difficult - despite of a big understanding from our families and our work. But there is nothing to complain about – at all times we have the choice if we want to continue or not.

Eurohandball.com: If you had a chance again would you still be a referee?

Vidarsson & Arnaldsson: Yes, no question about it! Our handball career has been a big experience for both of us; travelling around the world, meeting a lot of new people with different cultural backgrounds. To us that is one of the best ways of learning.

Eurohandball.com: What is the funniest thing ever to have happened to you during your career?

Vidarsson & Arnaldsson: The funniest experience was at a tournament in Peking. Every time a player got a suspension he came over to us, bowed and said in English: “Sorry!” To us that kind of “behaviour” in handball was completely new.

Eurohandball.com: How do you see the rules of handball changing in the future?

Vidarsson & Arnaldsson: That is very difficult to say. Perhaps the throw off will be removed in the future and the goalkeeper will but the ball into play immediately after a team has scored a goal? That is just one thought.

Eurohandball.com: How has handball changed since you started refereeing?

Vidarsson & Arnaldsson: The biggest change in recent years is the speed of the game; referees must be in a very good shape - physically and mentally – to follow the game. We have to spend more and more time on training to follow this high-speed modern handball, we have no other choice.

In addition, the defence has changed a lot, which means we have to move a lot more on the field to ensure the best view at the actions.

The referees Gunnar Vidarsson and Stefan Arnaldsson from Iceland will be refereeing the first final between Krim Ljubljana and Viborg HK in Ljubljana on Sunday 14 May.

The second leg match in Aarhus will be refereed by the Ukrainian couple Valentyn Vakula and Aleksandr Liudovyk. Stay tuned to http://championsleague.eurohandball.com for a special on the Ukrainian couple.


Text: EHF