Referee Bjorn Kuipers will know exactly how to deal with any backchat in tonight’s Euro 2020 final — because he was always the biggest of motormouths as a player.
That’s according to Kuipers’ dad, Jan, who reckons the official’s no-nonsense approach is borne out of his upbringing in the tough town of Oldenzaal, which sits in the east of Holland near its border with Germany.
Jan said: “His style is because he was a right big-mouth himself and I taught him a lesson.
“Bjorn was a very fanatical player for our local non-league side Quick ’20, I was a ref at amateur level and Bjorn was a right nuisance for referees in games.
“He always had a go at them, commenting on their decisions, and at one point I said, ‘That’s it. If you know so much better, go and take charge of a few games yourself.
“That is how his career started and he was put in charge of the most scrappy and serious matches.”
It all kicked off in one local derby between Bornerbroek and Dolphia, with flying tackles and headbutts on the pitch, and fights in the stands.
But rather than stand back, Kuipers dived in and dragged the biggest of those involved by the scruff of the neck away from the action.
Jan added: “I was there watching it all and it was serious stuff — the players did not like a couple of the decisions and that is when it all kicked off.
“But no matter how young Bjorn was at that moment, he stood right up against them all.’’
Since then, Kuipers has clashed with star names such as Neymar and Marco Verratti, the Italy midfielder, who once claimed the referee told him to ‘**** off’.
Fellow UEFA ref Bas Nijhuis, a friend of Kuipers, said: “You can tell UEFA likes his style, because they always give him all the s**t matches, where there are big things at stake or where there has been trouble before.
“Matches they don’t trust any other referee to handle.”
