Setting the thermostat
By Christer Ahl (IHF/PRC President)

It is absolutely necessary for the referees to use their experience to sense the “temperature” in a game, in order to apply correctly and consistently a line of “progressive punishment”. It is not possible to come to a game like a “robot”, giving out punishments without really sensing what is the approach and what are the intentions of the teams in that particular game.

Good referees must distinguish between play that is hard but fair and actions that are dangerous or unsportsmanlike. If the referees overreact, perhaps because they are worried about losing control, they may create big problems for both themselves and the teams, because their progressive line becomes impossible to maintain. Also, it creates irritation and may in fact causes the “temperature” of the game to rise. So, instead of their intention to “put out the fires” the referees in reality “ add fuel to the fire”.