I have seen this movie in 2010 when it appears and I can tell that is highly recommended for people that love football in order to understand better the whole industry. I am a professional referee and I recommend this movie for everyone that loves football not to pity the referees life but to see what it takes to handle the pressure.

This documentary is a compelling insight into the life of a professional football referee at a major international football competition. There are moments in the match when the forensic view of the decisions on a football field almost feels like the scene of a crime where the officials are the accused in a diabolical arena. The main areas of focus are the decisions and their implications for the referees chances of career progression, but in more sinister terms for the adverse effects on their private lives. Never credited when they do well, but the focus of attention if they make a mistake - sometimes when it is not their fault. It's interesting to see the personal lives of the referees to humanise these hitherto voiceless lawkeepers, butperhaps too much was given over to this in the final third.

A fly on the wall documentary, that essentially captures the lives of Referees and how their families are influenced. The "real heroes" where their superpowers are that of integrity, honesty and hawk vision. Portraying a calm demeanor, while the adrenaline is pumping does require a lot of strength, which a referee time and again illustrates.Different trios entrusted with responsibilities, that can cause a flutter among the political elites as well. All in all, a very insightful documentary and a must watch for anyone who enjoys the game of football and wants to understand the mentality of all the personnel involved which ensure the smooth running of the beautiful game.

While "The Referees" lacks the cutting edge of a lot of current documentary films , it's still a fascinating look at how the system works during a major tournament . England's leading ref , Howard Web is one of the protagonists and it's interesting to see how he communicates with his assistants during the game.It's interesting to see how the refs treat a game as if they are playing themselves and how they all work like a team just like the players they are reffing. I would have liked to have seen some kind of narrative and it would have been much better if we could have seen the world cup in 2010 instead of the European Championships of 2008.