Les arbitres

A fly on the wall documentary, that essentially captures the lives of Referees and how their families are influenced. The "real heroes" where their superpowers are that of integrity, honesty and hawk vision. Portraying a calm demeanor, while the adrenaline is pumping does require a lot of strength, which a referee time and again illustrates.Different trios entrusted with responsibilities, that can cause a flutter among the political elites as well. All in all, a very insightful documentary and a must watch for anyone who enjoys the game of football and wants to understand the mentality of all the personnel involved which ensure the smooth running of the beautiful game.

While "The Referees" lacks the cutting edge of a lot of current documentary films , it's still a fascinating look at how the system works during a major tournament .

England's leading ref , Howard Web is one of the protagonists and it's interesting to see how he communicates with his assistants during the game.

It's interesting to see how the refs treat a game as if they are playing themselves and how they all work like a team just like the players they are reffing.

I would have liked to have seen some kind of narrative and it would have been much better if we could have seen the world cup in 2010 instead of the European Championships of 2008.

I have seen many documentaries on refereeing, but none have immersed me so much in the action as this documentary did. In the documentary, three referee teams are followed during the Euro 2008. Several cameras follow the referees, showing their every action during high stakes matches. We also hear the communication between the officials and the stress and pressure they feel after their every decision. As a referee myself I found the referee's actions to be quite a learning experience.

I felt that sometimes the documentary was a little disjointed. One moment Howard Webb would be having a coffee, one frame later he would be whistling the start of a match. I didn't mind this too much, but it might annoy other viewers.

After watching this documentary, I feel like watching more football matches that just follow the referee.

Very enjoyable documentary. I would watch it again and would definitely recommend it.

The documentary shows an insight into the work of multiple referees during the European Cup 2008. If you like to see how referees act and what they experience during and after a match, this film is highly recommendable. This documentary provides an insight into how frequent the referee interacts with his linemen, what they say against football players, how they react after the match, and how their families are involved into refereeing. After seeing this documentary, I have gained much more respect for the job they do. It clearly shows under how much pressure these referees have to operate. It also shows the personalities (egos) of the referees.

A Swedish sports documentary; The film is a compelling insight into the life of a professional football referee at a major international football tournament. There are moments during the matches that are featured when the forensic view of the decisions on a football field seems almost like the scene of a crime where the officials are the accused in a diabolical arena. The film's two main areas of focus are the implications of an on-field decision in terms of a referee's career progression and the adverse effects of their on-field decisions on their private lives-never credited when they do well and lambasted when they make a mistake, even when sometimes it is not their fault. It was interesting to observe the personal lives of the referees, which humanises these voiceless lawkeepers, but perhaps too much was given over to this in the final third.