The Ukrainian referee couple Alexandr Ljudovyk and Valentyn Vakula will be refereeing the second final of the Women's 2005/2006 Champions League between Krim Ljubljana and Viborg HK in Denmark. Earlier this season the couple refereed the Men's...

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The Ukrainian referee couple Alexandr Ljudovyk and Valentyn Vakula will be refereeing the second final of the Women’s 2005/2006 Champions League between Krim Ljubljana and Viborg HK in Denmark.

Earlier this season the couple refereed the Men’s European Championship final between France and Spain, and eurohandball.com caught up with the two Ukrainians to hear more about their career and work within handball.

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

Valentyn Vakula: During the 14 years of our international refereeing career there have been many different memorable moments. I would consider my favourite moment to be in China in 1999, when we were refereeing at our first Junior World Championship – and at once we were given the final match.

Alexandr Ljudovyk continues: In my eyes the best moment was refereeing the final at Euro06 in Zurich in February. But we hope the best moment is still coming – a nomination for the Olympic Games.

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

Ljudovyk takes the word: The best part of being an international referee is the chance to travel and see the world. I have the chance to meet a lot of interesting people and work with my favourite sport, which is very important to me.

Vakula agrees: I get to work with my favourite sport – handball. On top, we stay and feel “young”, because we socialize with young people all the time.

Eurohandball.com: How did you get into refereeing?

Valentyn Vakula: Well, I was actually working as a trainer and I was refereeing the games during our training sessions. Boris Volodarskyy (a former referee is in the USSR) saw me refereeing and suggested to make an attempt at the local city championship. That’s how it all started.

Ljudovyk about his step into refereeing: At first it was difficult: I was 23 years old, when I started and I had actually been playing handball with a lot of the players I was now refereeing. But after the players understood that I was doing my job and they should simply continue playing everything went fine.

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

Valentyn Vakula: Well, it is difficult to be absent from home for a long time – on the other hand it is already impossible to stay home for a long time, too (ed. he says with a smile). My wife is also a handball player, so she understands my situation and does a great job in supporting and helping me.

Ljudovyk adds: I do not think it is difficult anymore, me and my family have got used to me leaving quite often.

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

Alexandr Ljudovyk: Yes. But I would start refereeing 5-6 years earlier.

Vakula continues: I never felt sorry that I started refereeing. It is my life and I do not want to change it – I would do it all over again.

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

Alexandr Ljudovyk: Hmm, there have been many funny moments over the past years. I would say one moment was when we many years ago flew from Moscow to Astrakhan by a military plane.

Vakula goes into depth: We have had car motor failures driving to matches. We judged in a country once where the windows shot automatically at night. But I would say the most memorable – and frightful experience – was in September 2001. We were at the Mediterranean Games in Tunis and we heard about the terror attacks in the USA. You are far away from home, all the airports are closed and you do not know what will happen next.

Eurohandball.com: What was the most difficult match?

Alexandr Ljudovyk: Actually, I think the most difficult match was the first because it was the first match.

Vakula adds: I would say our most difficult match was the semifinal match at the 2004 European Championship between Croatia and Slovenia. That was an intense match!

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

Alexandr Ljudovyk takes the word: I believe that handball in the future will be more “pure” and not such a rough game like it is at times.

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

Alexandr Ljudovyk: Well, handball has definitely become faster, more dynamic and interesting for the spectators.

Vakula wraps up: Handball has changed a lot over the years – the game is faster, with more contact and it has become more difficult to referee. In my eyes handball is more interesting today and its prestige in the world of sports is ever growing. I love handball very much and will do my utmost for its continuous development and propaganda.

Alexandr Ljudovyk and Valentyn Vakula will be refereeing the second final of the Women’s 2005/2006 Champions League between Krim Ljubljana and Viborg HK in Denmark.


Text: EHF