Through his Instagram, former Swedish referee Jonas Eriksson has strongly condemned UEFA’s corruption in choosing referees in the final stages and has used strong qualifiers to refer to the leaders of the body. The testimony of the collegiate is devastating. He remembers how they left him out of the final of the last European Championship, for reasons totally unrelated to his performance as a professional.
In addition, in the letter issued by Eriksson through his Instagram, he denounces that the choice is not even based on experience or confidence, but goes further. Talk about a political issue and use adjectives like “dirty”, “political”, “fake”, “dark” or “corrupt”. What’s more, he sentences his change of life since he retired from arbitration. This is his full letter:
“Five years ago I refereed the last semi-finals of the European Championship between Portugal and Wales. Although I was happy and proud when the game started, there was a deep disappointment for me and my teammates. Why weren’t we allowed to whistle the final? People often ask how they select for the decisive matches, if it is due to achievements, how the referees are classified, if it is for the one who makes the least mistakes or who is in charge of making the evaluation …
The truth is that a dark theme. A dirty, political and fake world where friendship, corruption, loyalty and nationality play a big role. That football that speaks of fair play and respect, where the rules are the same for everyone, where the four best teams, those that have won the most matches, play the semifinals in London. But when it comes to refereeing, everything happens in closed rooms, with political agendas and with everything but the best of football in mind.
Those who are selected and whoever is chosen for the final are NOT directly the top three referees in the tournament. It is not always those who have done the best, have received the highest rating or who have reached the top who earn the trust.
This time, the best referee of the tournament, without a single clear mistake, has already been sent home. The decision was made by senior UEFA officials and has nothing to do with their performances during the European Championship. Other arbitrators, sometimes unknowingly themselves, have the right contacts, better political backing or come from major countries, they arbitrate further.
Regardless of this, congratulations to the whistling referees. No shadow should fall on them. What everyone should know, however, is that it is a rotten world with a far-from-good culture. With perspective, I can say that I am very happy that I stopped whistling three years ago“.