Fri 25 Oct 10:06
Robin Forslund is in his third season as head referee in Hockeyettan.
On Thursday night, he had to make a lightning debut in the SHL.
– At first I thought it was a joke, he says and laughs.
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Frölunda took on Luleå in the SHL in Gothenburg and the match was to be refereed by Johan Wedin and Andreas Harnebring, but Harnebring injured himself in the warm-up so badly that he had to throw in the towel.
What to do then? When there is only about half an hour left until drop?
Call a referee from Hockeyettan!
Robin Forslund, 31, had sat down on the sofa at home in Örgryte when the call came from his friend Johan Wedin, who was to judge the match in Scandinavium.
– You drive? I thought it was a joke at first. But then I got a text from Morgan Johansson, who was the referee coach for the match. It was just a matter of driving the car here, he says to Göteborgs-Posten.
Robin Forslund made it to relegation, took three expulsions and was praised afterwards by Frölunda’s coach Roger Rönnberg after his SHL debut.
– Before I start the match, I thought it was a bit cool that we got a Division 1 referee in today. A judge who came in at short notice and handled it pretty well. It was fun to see, the veteran coach said at the press conference afterwards.
Robin Forslund passed the debut with flying colors, but admits that it was a sick feeling.
– Crazy, absolutely! But also extremely fun. This is the kind of thing you fantasize about. What if someone gets hurt, what if I could jump in, he says to GP.
Forslund has played himself and was also sports manager for Grums IK. Four years ago, he wanted to get closer to the sport and decided to start refereeing.
The end goal is a given: SHL.
– Well, absolutely. There is nothing else to do but become an SHL referee. I ended up being a sports director precisely because I wanted to judge – and on that track it is, he says to GP.
Tonight he is back in everyday life in Hockeyettan and referees the Skåne derby Pantern-Tyringe.
READ MORE: All the referees in Hockeyettan 24/25
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