The referee Samarth Katiyar has a lot going on
Samarth Katiyar combines refereeing with cricket and journalism.
26 year old Samarth Katiyar is one of our skilled Gothia Cup referees. He is ambitious and sees how far he can go as a football referee – while also working as a journalist and playing cricket.
When did you become a referee and at what level are you refereeing?
– I started refereeing in small scale in 2014 as an association referee, but it wasn't until 2019 that I started refereeing seniors and district football. At present, I'm a referee in division 4 in Sweden as the main referee and in division 2 (the fourth level) as an assistant referee, says Samarth Katiyar.
What do you think is the most fun about being a referee?
– For me, refereeing is more than just refereeing football - it is something that has helped me succeed on other levels, not least in my journalistic career. I have learned so much by refereeing football, things that I have been able to apply in my everyday life and see fruit from. There are two things that are consistent in my refereeing career and that I find the most fun:
1) Each match requires a different type of match management as no match is the same and I have to gain the trust of the teams before each match.
2) I have learned not to care about anything but run my own race, I will never be able to please everyone and that is something that is consistent with real life.
– There are two aspects that I find the most fun and are my carrot that keeps me motivated to be refereeing week in, week out.
What experiences and memories do you have from the Gothia Cup?
– I have very fond memories of Gothia Cup. I have had the privilege of refereeing the tournament three times and I have found it to be fantastic on each occasion. The allure is that I get to referee international teams and meet their football culture, which differs markedly from what I referee in my everyday life. Their way of playing and culture tests you as a referee and as a match manager, which is fascinating and makes me develop. As the icing on the cake, I've also had the chance to be a referee in a final every time. This year also at Gamla Ullevi. It was also a goal I set when I was a referee in Gothia Cup for the first time in 2019.
You also play cricket. How does it come about and what do you think is the allure of the sport?
– I was born and raised in India and cricket in India is a religion – something that basically everyone has practiced when they were little. I myself played cricket when I lived there but there was no opportunity to play cricket when I moved to Sweden in 2010. Then I changed direction and started playing tennis instead. But three or four years ago I found a cricket club in Gothenburg and started playing there.
– The funnest thing is the community and the team spirit, we win as a team and lose as a team. In addition, there are also some similarities between us in the form of relativity factors, inside jokes and the culture that we share. In addition to all that, I'm also a competitive person and the will to win comes naturally to me.
On a daily basis, you work as a journalist. What is it like to combine these different roles: as a journalist, cricketer and football referee?
– It's a puzzle because both cricket and football are summer sports so my matches collide with each other. I've had to prioritize this year and the refereeing has taken precedence, for the simple reason that I put more effort into it because I see an opportunity to build a career there alongside my journalistic career.
What dreams do you have for the future?
– During this year, I have worked very hard to get closer to my goal, which is to complete the step 3 education. So it's something I dream of in the short term, to complete that step and start refereeing a little higher up, says Samarth Katiyar.
