The referee: "It's fair play on and off the field"

Celebrate the Game is a fair play project that Partille Cup runs to create a better environment and a better climate for everyone, on and off the field.

"The referees are human" is one of Celebrate the Games' important messages. According to the Swedish referee Rasmus Schultz, players show respect for referees during Partille Cup.
– It's fair play on and off the field, says the 26-year-old.

Rasmus Schultz has refereed handball for over ten years.
– I started refereeing when I was 15 years old, so it's been a few years now, he says when we meet after a match at Heden 8.
How did you become a referee?
– It was a natural thing for me to become a referee. For me it was more about being able to spend more time in the hall. I have always loved the sport and I always will.

This is his third year at Partille Cup as a referee.
– I've played the tournament significantly more times. I stopped playing when I was 21 years old, to be able to focus on my refereeing career. I love Partille Cup. It's great fun with such good quality in the matches. All players are really good handball players. Then you meet a lot of colleagues from other countries and other parts of Sweden, which is incredibly fun. The whole event is really good, says Rasmus Schultz.

"The referees are human" is one of Celebrate the Games important messages. Respecting referees and playing in the spirit of fair play is exactly what the referee believes Partille Cup participants are good at.
– I think that handball in general really follows the fair play trend. One of the great things about handball has always been that even those who are not that familiar with the sport can highlight fair play as a positive thing about the sport. Now fair play is taken incredibly seriously because there have been some exaggerated situations at the absolute highest level and very clear directives are introduced. It has been noticed at the meetings before Partille Cup that fair play and respect for referees are taken very seriously. Everyone is on board, says Rasmus Schultz and adds:
– It's fair play on and off the pitch here. It's noticeable that there is a greater understanding of referees today than a few years ago. The players absolutely behave in Partille Cup. And most leaders too. Everything has been great from what I've seen.

He dreams of becoming a world-class referee.
– Me and my colleague Elias referee the second division for women and division 2 for men as the highest at the moment. We want to go as far as possible. It would have been great fun to reach all the way to the top in Sweden and if possible even further into Europe. It's not obvious. There is a lot of work behind it, but it's a dream, he says.