On the other foot
But this is not a referee summoning the two teams together for 90 minutes of action. The boot is on the other foot this time. It's actually Europe's top referees being called to attention for the latest part of their annual UEFA fitness test.

Strenuous sessions
More than eighty referees on the international list - including the 14 European referees chosen for duty at this summer's 2002 FIFA World Cup final round in Korea/Japan - were recently put through their paces in strenuous sessions in the Mediterranean principality, to reassure UEFA that they are in top condition to take charge of matches at the highest European level.

Fitness programme
UEFA places considerable emphasis on optimum fitness for referees, and is working together with Belgian expert Werner Helsen, who devises fitness programmes and training routines for Europe's leading match officials. "Proper fitness training is essential to maintain and optimise performance," Helsen tells his charges.

Ready for the job
The objectives of such fitness programmes are manifold - to motivate referees to train in a more specific manner, to make them aware of training objectives, and, most importantly, to make sure that a referee is ready to do his job.

Devoted to fitness
Given the hectic pace of the modern-day elite game, referees have to be religiously devoted to physical fitness if they want to reach the top. Suitable training and a proper diet are crucial. You certainly won't see any "roly-poly" men in black at the highest level nowadays. It would be impossible for them to survive.

Eye-opener
It was quite an eye-opener to watch over 50 elite and first-class category referees in action on a sunny early spring morning at the Stade Louis II - a venue which many of the participants had seen from a fresh aerial perspective beforehand, when they were airlifted into Monaco by helicopter from Nice airport.

Long distance and sprints
In the UEFA fitness test, the referees had to prove their mettle over a longer distance - running a minimum 2,700 metres in 12 minutes - and in short bursts - two 50-metre sprints in a maximum 7.5 seconds per sprint, and two 200-metre sprints in a maximum 32 seconds per sprint. Their performances were measured by UEFA officials on state-of the art equipment that enabled the "judges" to immediately record times to the nearest microsecond.

Winter-break training
If there were any fraying nerves, both in the run-up to the test and during the  warm-up periods in the stadium, the referees took great pains not to show it. Indeed, a good many of them had already been fine-tuning their fitness levels at winter-break courses in locations such as the Canary Islands.

Some apprehension
One of the referees, Scotland's Hugh Dallas, did admit to some apprehension before the test. "I'd just come through an appendix operation, I'd been out of action for a few months and had been training only for some five or six weeks," he said.

Fear of injury
The vastly experienced Dallas was fully justified in keeping his fingers crossed that nothing would go wrong. After all, he is one of the 14 Europeans who will be travelling to the World Cup. "There can be nerves before such tests," he explained, "because there is always the fear of picking up an injury, especially in a sprint, which could put you out for the rest of the season."   

Ideal weather
First on the programme was the long-distance run. The weather - around 22 degrees - was ideal. Some of the referees chose to push themselves to the limit, covering a distance well beyond 2,700 metres in the allotted time, while others were more content to steadily pace themselves. "I feel tip-top," said leading Swiss referee Urs Meier when he had finished. "It's pleasant to run in these conditions, and the grandstand shadow on one side keeps you comfortable."      

Acid test
The sprints, which would be an acid test for many of the "men in black", were held in pairs of two. It was here that we were able to gain a close-hand impression of just how fit the leading referees are. In an impressive sequence, they flew down the stadium's home straight, many of them displaying the style of champion athletes - and it was interesting to see that the older, experienced referees were perfectly capable of holding their own against younger colleagues...a testament to their years of dedication.

Friendly rivalry
Plenty of friendly rivalry existed between the "competitors". Virtually each individual sprint ended with the two referees involved slapping each other on the back, giving it the "high fives" or shouting "Well done!" to each other after crossing the finishing line - in many cases neck-and-neck. There's healthy mutual respect among men who have reached the higher echelons of their specific role within a demanding sport.

100 per cent success rate
Following the sprints, a final gulp from a bottle of water...back to the dressing-rooms...and a tangible sense of relief among the referees that all of them had met UEFA's demanding fitness requirements. Later in the week, there was also a 100 per cent success rate in the fitness test involving newcomers to the international scene.

Bearing full fruit
The Monaco test provided clear evidence that UEFA's comprehensive project to improve and develop referees' fitness is bearing full fruit. "We have seen that the level of physical fitness among Europe's top-level referees is excellent," said UEFA Referees' Committee chairman Volker Roth with considerable satisfaction. "This also shows the quality of the referees in question."