The Referee
Directed by	Mattias Löw
Written by	Mattias Löw
Produced by	Mattias Löw and Valentina Santi Löw
Starring	Martin Hansson, Sepp Blatter, Thierry Henry, Pelé, Arsène Wenger, Birgit Hansson, Bo Karlsson, Mikael Stahre, Janne Andersson and Erik Niva
Cinematography	Mattias Löw and Orvar Anklew
Edited by	Orvar Anklew
Production companies	Freedom From Choice AB and Sveriges Television
Distributed by	Sveriges Television and SVT Play
Release dates	June 3, 2010 (2010-06-03) (Stockholm, Sweden)
Running time	29 minutes
Country	Sweden
Language	Swedish

The Referee (Swedish: Rättskiparen) is a 2010 Swedish critically acclaimed, award-winning documentary film produced by Freedom From Choice AB and Sveriges Television^[1] about Swedish top football referee Martin Hansson and his controversial journey to ref at the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa.

Award-winning filmmaker Mattias Löw decided to follow the former firefighter from the village of Holmsjö in Blekinge, southern Sweden for a year that turned out to be the most dramatic in Martin Hansson's life.

The film features French football player Thierry Henry, former FIFA president Sepp Blatter, Arsenal F.C. manager Arsène Wenger, former football star Pelé, Swedish Football Association, Swedish top coaches Janne Andersson and Mikael Stahre in addition to referee boss Bo Karlsson and acclaimed journalist and author Erik Niva.

Reception

• The Guardian, UK - "This is a gem of a documentary."
• Le Figaro, France - "A very engaging dark chapter."
• Dagens Nyheter, Sweden - "An outstanding, entertaining and exciting movie."
• The New York Times, USA - "A perceptive documentary on soccer refereeing (...) a masterful portrait."
• Svenska Dagbladet, Sweden - "A nail-biter with a stylish dramaturgy."
• USA Today, USA - "This documentary is spectacularly intricate."
• Financial Times, UK - "Hansson’s story has meaning beyond football."
• Empire, UK - "One for the football fans."
• Howard Webb, 2010 FIFA World Cup Final Referee - "A very interesting documentary."

See also

• List of association football films

References

Sources

• "Interview". Financial Times. Retrieved 13 February 2015.
• "Interview". Never Captain Nicky Butt. Archived from the original on 13 February 2015. Retrieved 20 February 2015.
• "The Referee Review". Good Feet For A Big Man. Retrieved 13 February 2015.
• "Interview". Kicking & Screening. Archived from the original on 13 February 2015. Retrieved 13 February 2015.
• "The Referee Review". Frontline Football. Retrieved 13 February 2015.
• "The Referee Preview". Duke University. Retrieved 13 February 2015.
• "The Referee Review". A Football Report. Retrieved 13 February 2015.
• "Martin Hansson Documentary Review" (in Swedish). Swedish Football Association. Retrieved 13 February 2015.
• "The Referee Documentary Award" (in Turkish). Turkish Radio and Television Corporation. Retrieved 13 February 2015.
• "The Referee Review" (in Spanish). Goal.com. Retrieved 13 February 2015.
• "The Referee Review". Diarios de Fútbol (in Spanish). Retrieved 13 February 2015.
• "BAFICI Preview" (PDF) (in Spanish). Buenos Aires International Festival of Independent Cinema. Retrieved 13 February 2015.
• "La Nacion Review". La Nación (in Spanish). Retrieved 13 February 2015.
• "De Correspondent Review". De Correspondent (in Dutch). Retrieved 7 March 2015.
• "Top 5 Football Documentaries of this decade". Give Me Goal. Retrieved 8 March 2015.
• "5 Sports Documentaries You Probably Haven't Seen". Betting Expert. Retrieved 8 March 2015.
• "Futbol Total List of 10 Best Football Films of All Time" (in Spanish). FutbolTotal.com. Retrieved 9 December 2015.
• "Football Films Not To Be Missed". FutbolEno.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 9 December 2015.
• "Sports Film of the Week". The 42. Retrieved 28 April 2016.
• "Peace and Balance – The Referee". Thoughts On Films. Retrieved 28 April 2016.
• "Howard Webb: Gaffes hurt refs as much as players". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 28 April 2016.

Notes

External sources

• The Referee at Rotten Tomatoes
• The Referee at IMDb
• The Referee at the Swedish Film Institute Database