Who has not experienced the situation? The teams stand ready on the court, but where is the referee(s)?? Is he/she coming or must we try to persuade someone to take the job? Still no referee and people are starting to sneak away, because they won't risk to be persuaded to be the referee.

Why the lack of referees? Is it because that being a referee is the same as exposing yourself to all possible taunts from coaches, players, parents and spectators?

It has been heard: "Good match, referee! Pity you didn't saw it!" or "Hey referee. Your guide dog has just been disqualified because it is one-sided!"

It cannot be any fun to use your free time to listen to such outbursts, but does it have to like that?

I have often heard the youth being trained to look down on the referees and consider the referees as useless, incompetent, blind and much more, and who is the teacher - the trainer and unfortunately also the spectators (parents).

If the trainers instead taught the players, that the referee is a person, who does his/her best, but is unable to see everything, and maybe once a while praised the referee for a good effort, then maybe more would come forward and enroll as a referee. If the trainer extended his instructions and told the parents, that is does not help their children on the court, if they make the referee mad, then we are going somewhere. I admit that I sometimes have been somewhat huffy on a referee, when he overlooked something, I had seen, but from that to shout stream of abuses to him is going too far. If you think the opponent are pulling a little bit too much in your players, you can - in a nice way - ask your players to tuck their shirt into their trousers and give the referee signs, that you thing the opponents are pulling. Most referees will then be attentive to that fact. When your players emerges from the defense with their shirt drawn from their trousers then the referee will interfere.

Many times I have wondered if there would be a lack of trainers if the spectators - instead of shouting at the referee - turned their attention to the trainers and starts shouting: "Hey coach! I am sure you have a good explanation why you put your most tiny player to cover the opponents tower of a jump shooter!" or "Hey coach! Why not let your players play their game. They obvious know more to it that you!"

Handball is a sport and let us keep it in that way with all sport stands for. The opponents are not the enemy, which must be slaughtered, but players of the same age who happens to play for another club and who easily could have been your best friends. The referees are volunteers, who spend their free time to be a referee, so that the trainers do not have to referee their own matches. The trainers are persons, who besides teaching their players to play handball also are persons, who must inform their players, what sport is and stands for.