Read on Twitter
Former referee Jerome Damon on #SAFMSportOn : "In 2006 I'm in the dressing room, Sweden v Germany in Berlin . So I need to get the players out to line up cos the walk is long. Ibrahimovic is taking his time. I say to him let's go, he turns and says, but do you know who I am"
"I responded and said I have no idea who you are and looked at his jersey and said but today you're number 10 and you need to get into your line up quickly. Then he said, nobody tells me what to do my friend"
"I could feel the attitude coming at me, then I whipped out my worst Afrikaans, which I cannot repeat. He had no clue of the word I used on him. But I got everything I wanted off my chest. We walked and didn't make eye contact. After the game, he came and said, sorry ref"
"Preparing for a match is intense. In the World Cup, we meet with a psychologist to check if we are in the right state of mind. We also watch DVDs of players, we try to understand the coaches tactics. There is also a lot of video work"
"The reason we do this is to get info on certain players. So when a coach makes a change, what's he trying to achieve. Will the game be faster. Will the midfield be more congested, which means I must now go wider or move and run quicker through the midfield"
"We look at the key players, are they tall. So if they play a cross, we can anticipate where the ball willl drop and position ourselves. Even in training, we had Vuvuzelas blowing, so we simulated real match situations in order to prepare properly. These days we use drones"
"I planned for Didier Drogba because I knew he was a player that would go down from the smallest touch. I decided I didn't care how many times he went down, I was gonna be picky, he wasn't gonna get the foul. That attitude helped, cos years down the line, he said he respected me"
"These players can be kids and childish sometimes. In the Argentina dressing room, I went in to inspect the kit and Messi was busy hiding Aguero's boots. In the Brazil dressing room, Ronaldinho was always playing tricks on people"- @jerome_k_damon on @SAfmRadio #SAFMSportOn
PODCAST : Here is the full interview. He also talks about what he has to do when Hlompo Kekana has the ball.... 
https://iono.fm/e/880762
https://iono.fm/e/880762
