Thursday 20 August 2020

Referee Makkelie relishing big Cologne date

Dutch referee Danny Makkelie, who takes charge of Friday's UEFA Europa League final, talks about his career and what makes a top match official.

Dutch referee Danny Makkelie, who takes charge of Friday's UEFA Europa League final, talks about his career and what makes a top match official.

Danny Makkelie is preparing for one of the most important refereeing assignments of his career so far – and is thankful that the unprecedented events of an extraordinary year have opened his eyes to just how much he loves both refereeing and football.


The 37-year-old Dutchman takes charge of Friday’s UEFA Europa League final between Sevilla and Inter Milan at Stadion Köln in Cologne with a feeling of greater appreciation after the long hiatus endured by European football amid the COVID-19 pandemic.


“When there was no football, I really missed the game, and I really missed refereeing,” he says. “You don’t know what you’ve got until it’s not there. I certainly learned during that period what a privilege and pleasure it is to be a referee…”


Refereeing ‘calling’

Makkelie says that to be a referee was his ‘calling’ from an extremely young age. The son of a Dutch Royal Marine, he was born on Curaçao, an island in the southern Caribbean Sea that forms a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. His parents returned to the Netherlands, and as a small boy in a new environment, he discovered that he enjoyed playing a leading role in primary school sports activities. By the age of ten, he was taking charge of football and basketball sessions.


“I really enjoyed being a leader, and that feeling has stayed with me as part of my personality,” he says. “I like facing challenges, taking responsibility.” By his teens, Makkelie was refereeing adult matches and earning praise from the players for his performances. “It made me believe that I could perhaps make a career of refereeing,” he reflects. He was invited by the Royal Netherlands Football Association (KNVB) to join their refereeing set-up – starting him off on an exciting road ahead.


“My father was a crucial figure at that time,” he says. “I was so young that I didn’t have my driving licence yet – but he encouraged me to follow my path. He was my biggest supporter, and he drove me to my matches. I can’t tell you how important he was.”


Refereeing his first professional match at the age of 22, Makkelie has risen through the ranks at domestic and international level to become an established and assured match official. “You need a strong personality,” he emphasises. “You must be able to handle the pressure, and you must have the authority that means that players are able to accept your decisions.”


Makkelie also names fellow Dutchman, former FIFA referee and current UEFA referee development panel member Jaap Uilenberg, as the key figure in shaping his personality as a referee. “His experience has been invaluable – he knows how to motivate me and get me focussed. It’s because of him that I’m where I am as a referee.”


Teamwork counts double


However, Makkelie makes one thing crystal clear – “As a referee, I’m nothing alone.” His two assistant referees at the Cologne final are compatriots Mario Diks and Hessel Steegstra, while two more Dutch officials, Kevin Blom and Jochem Kamphuis, are part of the video assistant referee team. “We’ve been together as a team now since 2015, and we have a fantastic relationship – we’re friends, we trust each other, we share responsibility and win together. I can’t emphasise the value of teamwork enough. Alone you may go faster – but together you can go further…”


Sadly, the continuing impact of COVID-19 means that no spectators can be present for the big game in Cologne. “This doesn’t make any difference in terms of what you expect in terms of your performance,” Makkelie says of the experience of refereeing ‘behind closed doors’. “You still have to do the best job possible, you have to be totally focussed on what you’re doing, whatever the circumstances.”


Makkelie describes himself as “a real competitor in anything I do – I’m someone who really hates losing!” He enjoys his time away from refereeing watching films and listening to music at his village farmhouse between Rotterdam and Utrecht. Working for the KNVB in helping young referees develop also sees him giving back the experience that he has acquired in abundance over the years.


Thanks to UEFA


“I’m proud and delighted,” he says of his appointment for the UEFA Europa League final. “Especially when there are so many other excellent referees who would have deserved to have been selected as well.” There’s also a special word of thanks to UEFA for the European body’s assiduous drive to set up a comprehensive training programme for Europe’s referees during the COVID lockdown period. “Even when there were no games, we were all kept fully involved in refereeing,” he says.


Danny Makkelie’s determination to succeed as a referee shines like a beacon: “I’m someone who always wants to get the best results possible, to achieve the highest quality that I can. And I hope that the refereeing team can show on Friday that we’re worthy of being part of this great European football occasion…”

Source:
uefa.com

8 comments:

  1. Interesting interview to read, especially for young referees who has the same goals and dreams. I like the way he speaks about his team and also his high professionalism. He is definitely a rolmodel for many of us.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I want to thank Dr Emu a very powerful spell caster who help me to bring my husband back to me, few month ago i have a serious problem with my husband, to the extend that he left the house, and he started dating another woman and he stayed with the woman, i tried all i can to bring him back, but all my effort was useless until the day my friend came to my house and i told her every thing that had happened between me and my husband, then she told me of a powerful spell caster who help her when she was in the same problem I then contact Dr Emu and told him every thing and he told me not to worry my self again that my husband will come back to me after he has cast a spell on him, i thought it was a joke, after he had finish casting the spell, he told me that he had just finish casting the spell, to my greatest surprise within 48 hours, my husband really came back begging me to forgive him, if you need his help you can contact him with via email: Emutemple@gmail.com or add him up on his whatsapp +2347012841542 is willing to help any body that need his help. 

      Delete
  2. A success for Makkelie, a success for his assistant referees, and for VAR crew as well.
    Let me repeat again, this is the most meritocratic appointment based on previous performance that I can remember by years.
    Most of the times, referees get a final as reward for the careeer and as "overall assessment" by committee, but in this case one has still in mind the great games officiated by the Dutch both in Champions and Europa League.
    Merits that could have led him directly to CL final, but surely it was too early for that, the career will be long and very promising.
    Nice words by him about the absence of spectators as well, in a way you have to be more focused, he didn't look to be too sad under this aspect but for sure it is a minus in the happyness of a referee when he gets such a news for a big appointment. I'm sure the next finals handled by Makkelie will have people on stands!
    Last but not least, he is at moment unique being so expert in VAR but so excellent on the pitch, we have very often refereees who are not so much good behind monitors (for example in Italy many cases) but very good on the pitch, Makkelie has developed both aspects. He can be very proud. Also nice to read Blom name there, after a quite long careeer in UEFA, he deserves that, he had very difficult moments for some reasons, but he has been always reliable!
    Good luck to all the officiating crew.

    ReplyDelete
  3. In Italy very solid performance by Sacchi in second leg play off final. Spezia is promoted to the top level, as the ref and the assistant referees.
    Totally deserved.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Makkelie is on track to become a better referee and have a more illustrious career than Clattenburg, if he keeps up what he is doing.

    ReplyDelete
  5. 2020/21 UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE - SECOND QUALIFYING ROUND

    Tuesday 25th August

    20:00 CET - Tirana (Air Albania Stadium)
    KF Tirana (ALB) - FK Crvena zvezda (SRB)
    Referee: Kaspar Sjöberg (SWE)
    Assistant Referee 1: Peter Allheim (SWE)
    Assistant Referee 2: Mikael Hallin (SWE)
    Fourth Official: Mohammed Al-Hakim (SWE)
    UEFA Referee Observer: Vadims Direktorenko (LVA)
    UEFA Delegate: Milovan Đukanović (MNE)

    20:00 CET - Thessaloniki (Stádio Toúmbas)
    PAÓK FC (GRE) - Beşiktaş JK (TUR)
    Referee: Daniele Doveri (ITA)
    Assistant Referee 1: Matteo Passeri (ITA)
    Assistant Referee 2: Dario Cecconi (ITA)
    Fourth Official: Gianpaolo Calvarese (ITA)
    UEFA Referee Observer: Fredy Fautrel (FRA)
    UEFA Delegate: Oleg Harlamov (EST)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Wednesday 26th August

      16:30 CET - Alkmaar (AFAS Stadion)
      AZ (NED) - FC Viktoria Plzeň (CZE)
      Referee: Luís Miguel Branco Godinho (POR)
      Assistant Referee 1: Rui Miguel Martins Teixeira (POR)
      Assistant Referee 2: Luís André Ferreira Pinto Campos (POR)
      Fourth Official: André Filipe Domingues Narciso (POR)
      UEFA Referee Observer: Matteo Simone Trefoloni (ITA)
      UEFA Delegate: Alojzije Šupraha (CRO)

      18:00 CET - Marijampolė (Hikvision arena)
      FK Sūduva (LTU) - Maccabi Tel-Aviv FC (ISR)
      Referee: Rade Obrenovič (SVN)
      Assistant Referee 1: Matej Žunič (SVN)
      Assistant Referee 2: Grega Kordež (SVN)
      Fourth Official: David Šmajc (SVN)
      UEFA Referee Observer: Marián Ružbarský (SVK)
      UEFA Delegate: Ginta Pēce (LVA)

      18:00 CET - Celje (Stadion Z'dežele)
      NK Celje (SVN) - Molde FK (NOR)
      Referee: Jochem Kamphuis (NED)
      Assistant Referee 1: Jan de Vries (NED)
      Assistant Referee 2: Joost van Zuilen (NED)
      Fourth Official: Siemen Mulder (NED)
      UEFA Referee Observer: Kóstas Kapitanís (CYP)
      UEFA Delegate: Danilo Filacchione (ITA)

      18:00 CET - Baku (Tofiq Bəhramov adına Respublika Stadionu)
      Qarabağ FK (AZE) - FC Sheriff Tiraspol (MDA)
      Referee: Furkat Atazhanov (KAZ)
      Assistant Referee 1: Sergey Kalachov (KAZ)
      Assistant Referee 2: Darkhan Tulegenov (KAZ)
      Fourth Official: Grigoriy Moskovchenko (KAZ)
      UEFA Referee Observer: Michal Beneš (CZE)
      UEFA Delegate: Aliaksandr Aliejnik (BLR)

      19:00 CET - Zagreb (Stadion u Kranjčevićevoj ulici)
      NK Lokomotiva Zagreb (CRO) - SK Rapid Wien (AUT)
      Referee: Juan Martínez Munuera (ESP)
      Assistant Referee 1: Roberto Alonso Fernández (ESP)
      Assistant Referee 2: Miguel Martínez Munuera (ESP)
      Fourth Official: Santiago Jaime Latre (ESP)
      UEFA Referee Observer: Stéphane Lannoy (FRA)
      UEFA Delegate: Róbert Kispál (HUN)

      19:30 CET - Razgrad (Ludogorets Arena)
      PFC Ludogorets 1945 (BUL) - FC Midtjylland (DEN)
      Referee: Denys Shurman (UKR)
      Assistant Referee 1: Oleksandr Korniyko (UKR)
      Assistant Referee 2: Oleksandr Zhukov (UKR)
      Fourth Official: Mykola Kryvonosov (UKR)
      UEFA Referee Observer: Miroslav Tulinger (CZE)
      UEFA Delegate: Felix Grigore (ROU)

      20:00 CET - Cluj-Napoca (Stadionul Dr. Constantin Rădulescu)
      CFR 1907 Cluj (ROU) - GNK Dinamo (CRO)
      Referee: António Emanuel de Carvalho Nobre (POR)
      Assistant Referee 1: Bruno Miguel Alves de Jesus (POR)
      Assistant Referee 2: Nuno Filipe dos Santos Tomás Pereira (POR)
      Fourth Official: João Carlos Antunes Pereira Bento (POR)
      UEFA Referee Observer: William Young (SCO)
      UEFA Delegate: Patrick Wattebled (FRA)

      20:00 CET - Warsaw (Stadion Miejski Legii Warszawa im. Marszałka Józefa Piłsudskiego)
      Legia Warszawa (POL) - Omónia FC (CYP)
      Referee: Nathan Verboomen (BEL)
      Assistant Referee 1: Mathias Hillaert (BEL)
      Assistant Referee 2: Ruben Wyns (BEL)
      Fourth Official: Erik Lambrechts (BEL)
      UEFA Referee Observer: Vítor Manuel de Melo Pereira (POR)
      UEFA Delegate: David McDowell-Zor (SVN)

      20:00 CET - Brest (Ablasny spartyŭny komplieks “Brescki”)
      FC Dynama Brest (BLR) - FK Sarajevo (BIH)
      Referee: Loúkas Sotiríou (CYP)
      Assistant Referee 1: Charálambos Georgíou (CYP)
      Assistant Referee 2: Níkos Englézou (CYP)
      Fourth Official: Vasílis Dimitríou (CYP)
      UEFA Referee Observer: Stefano Podeschi (SMR)
      UEFA Delegate: TBD

      20:15 CET - Berne (Stade de Suisse Wankdorf)
      BSC Young Boys (SUI) - KÍ (FRO) / ŠK Slovan Bratislava (SVK)
      Referee: Athanásios Tzílos (GRE)
      Assistant Referee 1: Vasílios Nikolakákis (GRE)
      Assistant Referee 2: Andréas Meïdanás (GRE)
      Fourth Official: Dimítrios Karantónis (GRE)
      UEFA Referee Observer: Vladimír Medveď (SVK)
      UEFA Delegate: Olivier Chovaux (FRA)

      20:45 CET - Glasgow (Celtic Park)
      Celtic FC (SCO) - Ferencvárosi TC (HUN)
      Referee: Allard Lindhout (NED)
      Assistant Referee 1: Charles Schaap (NED)
      Assistant Referee 2: Bas van Dongen (NED)
      Fourth Official: Jeroen Manschot (NED)
      UEFA Referee Observer: Terje Hauge (NOR)
      UEFA Delegate: Rimla Akhtar (ENG)

      Delete
  6. I Finally Got Helped !! I'm so excited right now, I just have to share my testimony on this Forum.. The feeling of being loved takes away so much burden from our shoulders. I had all this but I made a big mistake when I cheated on my wife with another woman and my wife left me for over 4 months after she found out.. I was lonely, sad and devastated. Luckily I was directed to a very powerful spell caster Dr Emu who helped me cast a spell of reconciliation on our Relationship and he brought back my wife and now she loves me far more than ever.. I'm so happy with life now. Thank you so much Dr Emu, kindly Contact Dr Emu Today and get any kind of help you want.. Via Email emutemple@gmail.com or Call/WhatsApp cell number +2347012841542 Website (https://emutemple.wordpress.com/)

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for writing a comment on our blog!