House of Cards: The dirty game behind the game – confessions of a FIFA referee Paperback – April 28, 2025

If a professional referee has a perfect match, nobody says a word about it. If they have a poor one, they immediately become everyone's object of hatred, solely responsible for everything. With these conditions on his shoulders, Jonas Eriksson walked out onto the biggest and most prestigious football pitches in the world time and time again. He portrays the enormous demands placed on the elite tier of referees, how they are ostracised if they don't maintain their weight or pass extreme physical tests. For eighteen years, Jonas Eriksson was one of FIFA's top referees. In House of Cards he speaks openly about the lonely path to the top, why he quit, and what happens behind the scenes in international top-flight football, which is characterised by corruption, cronyism and self-centred superstars. Read more