Name: Granit Maqedonci
Age: 31
Born: Prishtina, Kosovo
Lives: Gothenburg, Sweden
Occupation: Professional Referee Allsvenskan/Superettan
Kosovo is quickly making a name of itself as the land of good footballers & singers. While Kosovo was not among the teams in the World Cup 2018, it was far from un-represented in the tournament. Era Istrefi kicked off the World Cup together together with Nicky Jam and Will Smith by singing the official World Cup 2018 song Live It Up. On the pitch would Xherdan Shaqiri & Granit Xhaka follow her path by helping Switzerland reach the round of 16. Kosovo has also managed to gather quite a strong national team itself, but as we all know, a football game cannot be played without a referee.
Though Kosovo is known for producing talented footballers, it has not quite the same reputation when it comes to producing professional referees. In Kosovo, it is namely Genc Nuza who has managed to make a name for himself as an international referee, but behind him there are not many more examples. Therefore we at Kosovans Abroad are thrilled to introduce the next person to be interviewed on the website, Granit Maqedonci.
Granit is a 31 year old referee in Sweden who has climbed through the Swedish football system, and is now one of 25 professional referees in the two top Swedish leagues, Allsvenskan & Superettan. We had a chat with Granit on his upbringing, what motivates him as a referee, and the fact that he has officiated games for several players in the Kosovo national team, among others Arber Zeneli & Anel Rashkaj.
For starters, could you tell us about you and your upbringing?
I came to Sweden in 1992 just like many others from former Yugoslavia. My parents chose to leave Kosovo and we fled to Sweden when I was three years old. It was me, my parents and my older brother. Since then we have lived in Sweden.
How did you get into referring?
I started playing football very early and the sport was something that grabbed my attention as a child. My ambition was to become a professional football player and that was what I was aiming for initially. Parallel with the games, we also had to help the association by acting as referees for the younger players. Here I realized that you could make some money while part time refereeing. Then, when I started university, I needed some spare money which the refereeing contributed with. The faster you climbed the series system the more money you got and that was my driving force and carrot initially. Then, as time passed I realized that I enjoyed refereeing as well. From there on, I started taking the profession more seriously.
You are one of the youngest professional referees in Sweden's two top leagues, while also being the only professional referee with origins from Kosovo, how are you received on the pitch? Has your background in any way characterized you as a referee?
I have never put any significance on my young age to be honest. My background as a former football player is more important than my origin. Of course, some players may feel that it is easy to identify with me if they also have an immigrant background. Football is for everyone, and if the football clubs represent the way society looks like today, it is important that the referees do it as well. What I believe, on the other hand, is that I may have contributed that others with similar backgrounds view refereeing as a potential career opportunity. Right now there are several talented referees with origin from Kosovo in the Swedish third tire who are doing an excellent job and could make a name of themselves as professional referees in the future.
What are your dreams as a referee?
Of course, the dream is to become an international FIFA referee and to participate in the big tournaments .However, there are very few who reach that kind of level, and you need a lot of luck and support from the right people to reach such levels.
Is football in Sweden lucrative enough to have it as a full time occupation, or does it force you to another job?
In Sweden, there are today about 25 professional referees and 7 of them have the opportunity to be full time professionals and they are the FIFA judges. The other 18 need a side job and that makes our task more difficult as the players are always full time professionals and are free on match days while many of us get to officiate a match after already having worked a full day. It is not always optimal.
VAR is a highly debated topic among many football lovers, some love it, while others hate it. The technology has though not reached the Swedish football yet. What is your view on VAR?
I think that's a difficult question. For Sweden to be able to have referees at international level, VAR is almost a must. I personally think that VAR is good in some situations when you, as a referee, make a big mistake. For instance by sending off the wrong player or by making a decisive error. However, when I look at it through a supporter-perspective, I am not as convinced since football can never be black or white in that sense. We deal with judgements and even though we have VAR to our assistance, there will always be discussions about situations where we feel different. However, I think VAR is here to stay.
What is the biggest match you have officiated so far?
Most often it is the audience that creates a lovely atmosphere, and the matches I judged where it has been completely packed have obviously been extra fun. Helsingborgs IF - Landskrona BoIS at a packed Olympia in Superettan was fun and Falkenberg - Elfsborg which was sold out. To officiate the very best games in Allsvenskan, you usually need to be a FIFA referee.
What kind of refereeing style do you have on the pitch? Which referees have influenced you in your way of officiating?
I try to be communicative and treat players with respect. I try to not be the centre of attention if it's not necessary. I like referees with common sense, and I always liked Howard Webb and Pierluigi Collina, of course. Out of the current active referees, Anthony Taylor and Cuneyt Cakir are on my favourites list.
How has the Corona virus affected you as a referee?
Unfortunately, we couldn't officiate any games at all under the corona-pandemic, and it surely left its mark. The first game felt a bit rusty and it took a game or two before being able to get back into shape. In the meantime, however, we have trained more than ever and therefore most referees are in very good physical form right now.
If we talk a little Kosovo, the country has in a short time established itself as a good national team, and are two games away from a historic championship qualification. Have you followed their success and what do you think about the chances of reaching the EUROs next summer?
Of course I follow the national team and there are several players that I actually officiated in Sweden and it is a joy to watch them represent the national team. I've officiated games while Arber Zeneli played for Elfsborg, and Anel Rashkaj & Ismet Lushaku at AFC Eskilstuna. I was also involved in games where Kalmar FF with Fidan Aliti in the eleven have played. Ive also officiated Egzon Binaku & Astrit Ajdarevic who originate from Kosovo and represent Albania at national level.
Kosovo has a good bunch of players, with a little bit of luck,, I think Kosovo will qualify to the EURO’s. I’ve actually managed to get a hold of some tickets to Kosovo’s potential games next summer if they would end up qualifying, so I’m keeping my fingers crossed for a qualification.
Kosovo are recognized at producing good football players, but unfortunately there are not many football referees from the region. Genc Nuza is the exception who has reached international football as a referee through Kosovo. Why do you think there are so few judges from Kosovo & what do you think is required to extend the small number of referees?
I think it is hard to succeed when you come from a small country like Kosovo. Of course, there is a lot of politics and strong nations pushing for their own referees, and it is tough for countries without a recognized good league to join the elite. However, there are good chances for Albanians in other countries in Europe to be able to establish themselves and I think we will see more in the future. I think we will see more Albanian referees when we see someone establish themselves properly among the elite referees. This creates an interest and more people may choose a career within refereeing in the long run.
Finally, do you have any advice for younger boys and girls who want to invest in a professional refereeing career?
It is a special occupation, but if you are serious, responsive and do your best, you can get get quite far.. Having a genuine football interest helps a lot and reading up on psychology and how to deal with people is also important. But then again it is also a lot of stuff you must learn along the way. I think the biggest mistake many young referees make is that they want to progress through the serie system too quickly and have little respect for how difficult it actually is when you get higher up.Having humility for the role and willingness to learn and believing in yourself, if you have those things intact you are heading in the right direction.
We thank Granit for his time and wish him success ahead of the new season in Sweden!