Monday, 28 June 2010 13:37 Letshela Mariri
With South Africa out of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, there is still one man who continues to fly the country’s flag high on the field.
Capetonian Jerome Damon is the only South African match referee officiating at FIFA’s top international soccer showcase.
His official FIFA biography states that he first became a referee in Grade 11. He had been watching a game with friends when he was asked to stand in for a referee that didn’t pitch up. That’s when the bug bit and eventually led to refereeing at the highest level of world soccer.
He made his professional debut in the local Premier Soccer League in 1996. He went on to make his international debut in an African Cup of Nations qualifier between Swaziland and Botswana in 2003.
He has officiated in a host of international games including 5 African Cup of Nations tournaments (2004, 2006, 2008 and 2010). He is also the first South African to take charge of a soccer game at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and was a 4th match official during the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany.
In a job that demands travel and many days and nights away from home, how does he maintain the balance between being a referee, a teacher and a father all at the same time? He credits his parents and supportive colleagues as helping him through his career.
“It would not be possible without support systems, particularly the support we get from family. My wife is the head of that operation when I’m not around (when I am, it is a joint venture). Our parents lend a hand, as do our siblings. Our friends have also been very helpful; they look after my wife and kids and do regular check-ups if I am not around,” he says.
He also acknowledges his colleagues, “On the school front, I have had very supportive headmasters in Craig George and now Mark Wildschut. They, along with the SGB and the rest of the members of staff, rally around to ensure that things tick on whilst I am away — their only requirement is that the work is prepared and that there is a substitute present to ensure that the show does go on. In refereeing I have an inner circle who support me through my highs and my lows. My mentor appointed by Fifa, Ian McLeod (he refereed in France 1998), also assists in this regard.”
This article first appeared on www.amnh.co.za in 2010
