Ferencvavaros, playing without a few key players, beat Szentes 14:9 in the first match of the 15th round of the Hungarian League.
The game was interesting not because of the result, but because of the referees. A father and a son refereed the game together– Imre Toth and Koppany Toth. In addition, this was the first match in the Hungarian First League for a younger Toth, Koppany.
The inspector rated their referring with a grade of 8,5, which is considered a very good rating.
After the match, the Hungarian website Vlv. hu spoke to the Impre and Koppany Toth.
Asked how special this match was for him, the father, Imre Toth, said:
“In many ways.” It was good and interesting and… it didn’t bring me shame…
Do you mean the two referees?
“No.” I don’t usually embarrass myself, at most only very rarely, but I hide it… 🙂
How did you prepare, did you give your son any advice in advance?
“I didn’t give it, he doesn’t need advice, he’s already refereed a lot of games, and he’s received a lot of good advice from the inspectors so far. He came prepared.
How do you rate his performance?
“It was good. Koppany had a good pace and he did everything well.”
What kind of a referee do you think he is?
“He wants to reach the international level and I can see that he is doing everything for that reason, I think he can achieve his goal. I would like to add: I rarely see him refereeing, but the feedback is positive, I always “investigate” him a bit, I call the inspectors to see what they thought when he was leading a match… He was doing well, I think that’s why he got a chance to referee the game of the First League.
There are couples who always appear together, as is customary in refereeing. Is it possible that your double will be like this?
“I don’t think so because I’m going to stop now.” I wanted to finish it a long time ago, but my colleagues asked me to stay, but my age-based “mandate” expires this year.
Then one Toth less, one Tóth more.
“That’s right”.
Photo: Fradi Media/Szilvia Micheller
Koppany Toth said that the refereeing with his father hadn’t been something new for him.
“We had already led matches together in the lower leagues. On these occasions, it always turned out that we were “on the same page”. You can say, without looking at it, I know 99 percent what he will whistle. Of course, it has its charm that when I look over to the other side, it’s not a neutral colleague standing there but my dad.”
How special is this job, how are you preparing to develop yourself?
“When I started, I already knew that I wanted to be an international referee. Of course, when I watch a match, I pay attention to what my colleagues do. And I try to take the lessons and use them for myself.”
You’re young, you’re barely 24, you should still be playing water polo, shouldn’t you?” Do you have a playing background?
“I played water polo at junior level, I also had an OB1 match, but after graduating, I got a job that decided the question of the choice. The transition to refereeing was a longer transition, but I definitely wanted to stay in the sport. Now, the time has come for me to get tasks in the First League.”
What are your hopes?
“The feedback so far has been very positive, I get a lot of help from both the inspectors and more experienced colleagues. If you look at the fact that I started refereeing three or four years ago and reached the strongest first-class league in the world, I say this is a very nice result. You also need a lot of luck, a lot of time, practice, and the opportunity to gain experience that comes with assignments. And I don’t want to stop there.”
Both of you received a grade of 8.5 from the controller. What kind of assessment is this?
“According to the current trend, referees receive a grade of 8.5-9 if there is nothing to criticize in their operation.”
