Darren Cann built his career from judging the best profit margins in football, at the biggest stages, the most intense offside calls – from the World Cup and Champions League finals to the Premier League.

During the pandemic, he recalled moments of a lagging game, smiling at an international footballer next to an international footballer approaching the defensive wall.

"The referee said to him, 'Please, you need to be one meter away." "The player said, 'Is this because of Covid?'

"No," the referee said. “This is because of the laws of the game.”

This is one of the many glimpses we rarely hear on the side of football – the view of the officials, as Cann says, the players are "the most important person."

He quietly competed in over 1,000 games, including 579 in the Premier League - improved by only a few of the most enduring names, including Gareth Barry, James Milner, Ryan Giggs and Frank Lampard. At the highest level of the game, his consistency has earned his respect in twenty years.

The Fringe Master

To improve his judgment, he trained his eyes faster than the game itself. "I recorded hundreds of football games and watched them twice as fast," he explained. "The players move much faster and the ball moves faster. I try to judge by fast forward. If you're good at that, everything seems to be slow on Saturday afternoon."

The preparations are also detailed. "I analyzed the last 30 pieces of suits - both teams' offense and defense - and offensive free kicks," he said. "How the teams defend, how they attack - anything that could lead to the offside situation I need to expect."

Understand the players

Cann's feelings about games come from not only learning, but also playing games. He played youth football at Crystal Palace and Norwich City, lined up with Sir Gareth Southgate during his palace days. This experience gave him “compassion for the players” – an understanding of their intuition and frustration that helped him make split decisions as an official.

Although some fans may think, the 56-year-old insists that the referee is equally passionate about his role. “We do care about the game,” he said. “We work hard, we train hard, and we do everything we can to make all the decisions right.”

His passion expanded to five games, part of training with his former PGMOL colleagues. "I think Michael Oliver wants me to say he's the best footballer among referees, so I will! We'll get together regularly and the funny thing is that everyone wants to play - no one wants to referee that game."

The impact of technology

Cann's career spans the arrival of VAR and most recently a semi-automatic bias system, but his approach on the court remains the same.

"Now we have VARs, we don't have any different referees," he said. "When we walk out of the field, our mindset is to eliminate those 90-minute VARs by the right decision."

He welcomes the arrival of the semi-automated offset class, especially the increase in speed. "This technology will speed up those checks," he said. "It goes in the right direction - but, as always, the purpose is still to get every decision done correctly for the first time without the need for a VAR."

Highlights, tough games and history

In 579 No. 1, Cann's Premier League debut was in 2005 at Upton Park: West Ham United vs Bolton Wanderers. "I'm nervous, but luckily it's going well," he said.

On the other end of the scale, two matches avoided the rest in his memory. In 2010, Cann was the only member of the referee team appointed to the Champions League final and World Cup final that same year, as well as Howard Webb and Michael Mullarkey.

“They are the pinnacle of the player’s career and the career of the game officials,” he said. “We are very proud of it.”

The Champions League final was Saturday night's first game and performed particularly well. "It's one of those rare games, no errors in the referee or any assistant," he recalls. "No wrong off-road, no wrong arbitrary tickets or penalty calls. It's perfect for us."

The World Cup final between Spain and the Netherlands is a very different test. The match produced 13 yellow cards - the final record - and saw Dutch defender John Heitinga dispatched after receiving two reservations.

"It requires referees - Howard did a great job of management," Kann said. "Both teams were desperately trying to win because neither team has won the World Cup. It was probably the toughest two hours of my career, but it was still an amazing memory."

Tribute and retirement

Even Cann was surprised when he left the professional game after the closest Manchester City fixtures with Crystal Palace. "I received hundreds of messages in the game from people who respected - from journalists, commentators, former players, former managers and many referee fraternities," he said. "It's really humble."

The surprising retirement dinner organized by friend Webb provides moments he will never forget. "Howard summed up a montage of videos from people who crossed football," explains Karn. "One is Sir Gareth Southgate. He sent me a wonderful video message, which is personal and very modest. ”

The fastest and most fun

One stands out when it comes to speed and keeping up with the players’ efforts. “Thierry Henry.

There were also some lighter moments on the court, just like when the Chelsea warmed up before the Stamford Bridge game against Liverpool.

"Howard was the referee and a young man about eight to nine years old asked him, 'Come on his own to sign?" "Howard was gone, and the fans handed him the book and the pen, and when Howard started writing, the boy said, 'No, can you give me Fernando Torres' signature?' That was fun."

Liverpool also got involved on the day he “never heard the noise from a stadium like this” as Steven Gerrard drove home from a distance to the memorable FA Cup final against West Ham.

Leaving football, Kann even found unexpected recognition when he even served as a contestant in the show Meaningless. "Richard Osman walked over before the recording and said he knew what I did to make a living and talked to me for a few minutes. What a lovely person."

A regret and a change

What if Cann could change a law for the game? "I only allow the captain to speak to the referee," he said. "This will also convey a good message to the level of the grassroots level, because sometimes we will be in the situation where the referee revolves around the players. I don't think it's a good image for the game. It works well in the euro."

As for regret? Just one, still vivid. "This is my first season in the Premier League," he said. "I won't tell you two teams because I might upset some supporters, but I did misunderstand about half a yard. This is one of those guys who are forwards and defenders at the moment the ball gets kicked, and I just called it wrong. Today's decision still upset me."

The last autumn

Although the pressure from top hosts is Kann, Kann is always able to see the interesting side. In his final season, he suffered the first and only comedy depravity of his Premier League career.

"I grabbed the nails on the turf and fell on the side, like a fool and a horse," he said. "It's very embarrassing."

Staying balance is usually not a problem - at least during his pre-match ritual. “I always practice my flag signal before going to the competition,” he said. “For the entertainment of my colleagues, I stand in front of the mirror and make sure my flag is perfect – because when you do a throw or offside, the last thing you want to worry about is whether the flag is in the right position.

“The referee surprisingly provided the flag – even at the grassroots level, the referee brought two flags to two assistants.

However, Cann does have a long-term practice flag at home - same as he has been in the past 25 years. That was the early conversation of David Jason's character falling off in the bar, which inevitably reminded the image of the trigger's broom, when the character famously announced: "I've been on the way for 20 years. This old broom had 17 new heads and 14 new handles at the time."

"That's a great line," Kann said.