The Man in Black

Three men are filmed as they referee amateur soccer games. We hear what they say to the players and get an impression of the work that is normally kept off-camera, which is revealing to say the least. These men put their heart and soul into the job, remain polite, and try to find a balance between power and a sense of fellowship, despite getting little gratitude for their work most of the time. They need to be especially resilient when dealing with the players' and coaches' aggression against "the thirteenth man." All three of them have to examine how they deal with issues like responsibility, authority, and respect. They do so in their daily lives, for example as a clergyman or a professional soldier, but also at the meetings with monitors from the Dutch Football Association or other referees. The men talk candidly about their experiences on the soccer field. The mixture of images from their safe home environment and the yelling in the stadium is exemplary for the crossroads on which these men find themselves standing increasingly frequently. Do their decisions come from a desire to save their own hides, or only because it's the right thing to do?