Carlos Velasco Carballo will end today his career of 29 years in Spanish refereeing. His farewell will be in Mestalla, where he will be refereeing the match between Valencia and Real Sociedad, a game to enjoy his last 90 minutes of saying goodbye to La Liga. In June, he will make his international farewell at Euro 2016 in France, representing the Spanish refereeing. “I refereed all my life and will die refereeing”, said Velasco Carballo in an interview with Blog Brotons/Eurosport before his last domestic match.
- What remains after such a long and brilliant career?
- I will remember the good times and forget the bad ones. I will always have in my memory when it all started, on those fields in Ernesto Cotorruelo or Mine or Puerta Bonita. When we went to a Champions League match, our team was always joking: "from Garcia de la Mata to Stamford Bridge or Old Trafford from Puerta Bonita to Old Trafford". How interesting was the way we have come!
- You refereed 372 matches: 65 in Segunda B, 57 in Segunda Division and 250 in Primera Division.
- A lifetime. If I were to start again, with the experience I have, I would have not done or said many things. That illusion of the early years is lost with the passage of time; it is the adult experience that gives you security.
- Does it bother you that people will stick with things like: “He had Pique mania and sent him off twice” or “he sent off Betis 9 Betis players in 20 games”?
- Who stays with that are not football fans; they do not know much about refereeing. I think that, after 29 years, my image is not like that; it is impossible. You can receive criticism to improve and I accept it, but if you are attacked by something you are sure it is not true, I do not worry about it.
- A referee cannot fix his mistakes.
- When that happens, you would like to step back in time; doubts help you grow. Awarding a penalty kick or a yellow card or a red card is the same as the arrow from the archer, no turning back. It happened to all of us who are able to recognize our mistakes. What matters is to clear that memory and be ready for the next challenge.
- What happened in the 2011-2012 season? You created a furor by issuing lots of cards, 16 red and 131 yellow?
- It had to do with the maturity of the referee, the more you know the players their behavior towards you is different. It is normal for referees to issue fewer cards as they evolve. Our job depends a lot on the matches we are assigned, with huge rivalry or more cards. As a coincidence, in the same season, I refereed the final of the Europa League and went to the Champions League final as fourth official. I also refereed at Euro 2012, in Ukraine and Poland. They were two very strong years in my refereeing career.
- Each referee has its own style; how did you control your matches?
- A referee goes from being just a referee to becoming a “director of the game” when you have control of the game. It is like taming a horse, you have to know when to let go of the reins and when to hold. Refereeing much more than knowing the rules.
- Have you been informed about your errors at half-time?
- It is something I have banned on my team. When we got to the field I said "turn your mobile off or silent". It does did not bring anything good to know if I am right or wrong. If, after 29 years, I have to wait for the half-time to see if I was right or not to award a penalty, I learned nothing in my career.
- Why football flees from technology?
- I am an industrial engineer, I worked 20 years, my specialty is industrial electronics and therefore I am a technological professional. My house is full with tools that help me to study and analyze. The referees go on the field with a lot of technology: chest heart rate monitor, stopwatch with GPS, a bracelet with a hip flask to communicate, another bracelet that informs me of the messages from the assistants. I go home and analyze the matches with specific programs. Now also it has introduced goal-line technology line. We do not run away from it.
- What is the obstacle to apply the “instant replay” in football?
- Unlike other sports, football is based on continuity, not to stop. We must take extreme care not to change the essence of sport; that is my opinion.
- Why the referees have the absolute truth, don't you think that is excessive?
- I do not think so. Anyone can complain to the competition committee, the appeals committee or to CAS. Somehow, justice must establish a base and the judge has accuracy for legal purposes, if we do not start from that basis, we would be lost. The judge is given a faith that really what he is saying is the truth. Sometimes, the courts remove cards issued in sports.
- Is it easy to spot a cheating player?
- I do not like the word cheat because it is offensive. In football, everyone wants to get the most performance and there are players who simulate being fouled. The expression "has deceived the referee" must be changed, the referee is not the one being deceived, but the opposing team, because the injured is the opposing team; the player deceives a co-worker.
- You are human like everyone else and you cannot go wrong.
- But anyone doubts that a referee will put on the record something that is not true.
- Does anyone doubt that a referee can be sold?
- I work really hard to understand. In Spain we are lucky; very few people in the football world believe that a referee can be sold.
- Is honesty the main virtue of a referee?
- I am aware that I have stolen time from my children many times and I can never repay it. 6 or 7 years ago I determined to leave my career as an engineer to devote 100% to refereeing and have some time for my family. These moments when I am with them are of higher quality and I know they are proud of their father.
- The true love of your life has been refereeing?
- What I have been in my life is referee. I have been an engineer for many years, I am a father, I have been a husband, I have been many things, but certainly what I have been most is a referee. My life without refereeing would be pointless, it has forged my personality. I refereed all my life and will die refereeing.
- You could not referee a Champions League final due to Spanish teams. Will you regret being Spanish?
- I am very proud to be Spanish and very happy with the success of the Spanish teams. I have met with the triumphs of Spanish football and I enjoyed it.
- Have someone tried to influence your decisions ever?
- It has never happened to me. It is a very serious issue and we need to protect ourselves. In Spain it has not been any known case in recent years. I put my hand in the fire for my colleagues and me, no doubt.
- When you put your referee uniform in the attic what will be written on the lid of the box?
- "There is a lot of work and a lot of happiness". Refereeing has made me happy and I must say that I have worked a lot because I am extremely competitive. If, for example, UEFA would ask us to learn French and Chinese, besides English, which is our common language of communication, to go to Euro, I would start learning two new languages. I am a competitive animal.
Source: Brotons/Eurosport