Multi-millionaire business mogul Jonas Eriksson once made the astonishing admission that he only pursued a career as a referee due to his hatred of them. The 51-year-old was a FIFA-listed official from 2002 to 2018, during which he was seen as one of the elite referees in world football. The Swedish official also took charge of matches in his country's top division from 2000 through to 2018. However, he is perhaps most recognised for his selection to officiate at the 2012 European Championships, 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Euros. Among his career highlights was taking charge of the 2013 UEFA Super Cup clash between Chelsea and Bayern Munich, along with the 2016 Europa League final that saw Sevilla triumph over Liverpool 3-1.
Eriksson's fascinating journey began as a no-nonsense midfielder playing Saturday football in Sweden in his youth. Like countless others who have played the sport, he frequently found himself infuriated by the standard of officiating in his matches. His disdain for referees, coupled with his belief that he could perform far better, spurred him to try his hand at being the man in the middle at the age of 13. As he gained more experience as a referee in Sweden, Eriksson juggled his early career on the pitch with working at a company named IEC Sports, which bought and sold TV rights. "I slept too little, trained poorly and was careless with my food," Eriksson admitted, describing how working both jobs negatively affected his health. By the time Eriksson had established himself as an Allsvenskan referee, he was also a partner and sales director at his firm. Yet, it was his business ventures outside of football that catapulted him into millionaire status overnight. In 2007, Eriksson and his IEC Sports partners sold their shares in the company, with Eriksson's stake (around 10-15%) earning him an eye-watering £6million. He recalled: "I was 33 years old and suddenly financially independent and never had to work again. The joy was great but not overwhelming. The road to the millions had been much more fun than the moment I realised that I never had to worry about money again." Despite his newfound wealth, Eriksson refused to change, revealing: "I still collect stamps at the gas station to get every sixth car wash for free." Eriksson could have easily retired and spent his days lounging on a sunny beach somewhere. But his passion for refereeing, honed under the guidance of top officials like Anders Frisk and Pierluigi Collina, was too strong to ignore. At the peak of his career, he admitted: "I love football and I love to referee. Every week when I step out onto the grass, I'm doing what I love most. I've had a fantastic life as a businessman as well but since 2011 I've dedicated myself to being a professional referee and I'm having the time of my life."
A young Jonas could never have envisioned speaking those words, given his fierce hatred for the referees who presided over his matches during his playing days. Speaking to Spintso in 2022, Eriksson explained: "Simple really. I was very angry on the pitch as a player. I shouted, scolded, played hard and was mad at all the referees who were rude and cocky. I hated referees who came five minutes before the match started, nonchalant and never answered questions. Then I thought that it can't be that damn hard not to be like they were. The judgments I had weren't as bad as it sounds now but that's how I perceived it as a 13-year-old when I was angry and frustrated, simply a winner. I started refereeing because I thought: it can't be that hard. So, I attended a refereeing course organised by my association and started refereeing. I noticed that if I don't do what my colleagues do, this will be fine. Sure, it wasn't as easy as I thought but there was still something in it. That I was on the field thinking a lot about the questions, ‘What is it like to be a player? If I had played, how would I have wanted to be treated then?’ Then I changed sides with myself and thought about it, for example, when a player came up and scolded and was angry, ‘If I were this player now, what would I want to hear from the referee?’ I was still playing and could easily put myself inside a player's head. I was still an angry player on Saturday and refereed football on Sunday. In order to understand another person, you should have been in the same position yourself, which I absolutely was."
Despite still facing criticism like any other referee throughout his career, his unique understanding and approach to the role served him exceptionally well. He officiated nearly 200 international fixtures and over 300 Allsvenskan matches, while being crowned Referee of the Year three times in Sweden. He retired in 2018, though the way his career came to an abrupt end still causes him pain today. Eriksson had hoped the 2018 World Cup in Russia would serve as his swansong, having starred in Brazil four years prior. However, after weeks of anxious waiting and sleepless nights, refereeing chief Collina sent him a text message informing him he hadn't made the cut. The news came as a devastating blow as he broke down in tears in front of his wife and five-year-old daughter. Describing the trauma of knowing his career was essentially finished at the top, he recalled: "I, who have been addicted to performance all my life, have failed to reach my ultimate goal. The crescendo of my career has been cancelled; my planning for the next eight months has been blown away. I think that I as a person am a fiasco, that I have failed monumentally, that I have finally become a bubble that has burst, a lie that has been caught. I feel ashamed in front of other people around me that I have failed in what was to be the last of my long and successful refereeing career."
Fortunately, that dark episode hasn't diminished his passion for the beautiful game, as he has since relished sharing his insights as a television pundit. He described working in the SVT studio during Euro 2020 as 'the world's best summer job'. Eriksson explained: "I compare this job at SVT to when I refereed football. You have to be the best when it comes to it. You have to be well-read but also be able to improvise and find the moment. Of course, there is always tension when you have to speak live, but I love this. I enter a bubble." Eriksson has also maintained his business pursuits, even joining Sweden's version of the popular TV series Dragon's Den in 2021. He set up Dragon Invest AB alongside fellow 'dragons' from the programme, including Sara Wimmercranz, Shervin Razani, Jacob de Geer and Lena Apler, to pool investments from the show, focusing on Swedish tech, e-commerce and gaming companies. He remains active today as an investor and chairman for numerous Swedish tech companies such as MAG Interactive and G-Loot. This reportedly places his current net worth at approximately £10.4m, earning him the tag of 'the world's richest referee'. Once a firm critic of referees, Eriksson now sees his illustrious career as the highlight of his professional life, having admitted in 2013: "All the money hasn't changed anything, the best thing I do in my life is still refereeing football." Eriksson offered a unique glimpse into the world of football refereeing in his book Korthuset (House of Cards), published in 2022. In the book, Eriksson names his biggest regret as an official, saying: "I am ashamed that I did not speak out on certain occasions when I and others were treated badly. I and many others put our lives into becoming a referee but were often treated like crap."
