After eleven years

At last! Carinthia has a Bundesliga referee

Emil Ristoskov is now also handing out yellow cards in the top division.(Bild: GEPA)

The dry spell has come to an end! No Carinthian referee has officiated a Bundesliga match since 2013. On Sunday at the match between Blau Weiß Linz and GAK, the kickers will once again dance to the tune of a Carinthian. The debutant's father was already a top referee and once met stars such as Zinedine Zidane and Pierluigi Collina. .

It's been eleven years already. In 2013, Manfred Krassnitzer from St. Veit was the last Carinthian referee to officiate a Bundesliga match to date. But now a referee from Klagenfurt is finally ending our eternal refereeing drought: Emil Ristoskov. 

Emil Ristoskov has already officiated 65 second division matches.(Bild: GEPA)

Debut on Sunday
The 32-year-old will referee his very first match in Austria's top division this weekend. "It's been a long road. I could have done it earlier - but it was all down to me. Now I'm convinced," beams Ristoskov, who will "supervise" the match between Blau Weiß Linz and GAK on Sunday.

VAR not new territory
Ristoskov has already managed 65 second division games in his career, as well as seven matches in the ÖFB Cup. Now it's exciting: Emil, who works 30 hours a week as an office worker for the car rental company Sixt at Klagenfurt airport, will be confronted with VAR for the first time as head referee. "But it's not new territory for me, as I've already been working with the VAR for five seasons as 4th official," explained Emil.

Hristo Ristoskov (left) met some stars like Zinedine Zidane.(Bild: zVg)

World Cup and European Championship qualifiers
The path for Ristoskov was already mapped out. Papa Hristo is still regarded as one of the best referees in his native Bulgaria, refereeing European Championship and World Cup qualifiers as well as UEFA Cup matches between 2004 and 2010. During his career, he met stars such as former referee Pierluigi Collina and Zinedine Zidane. "My dad helped me a lot. He is my role model - like Deniz Aytekin and Viktor Kassai, both are real personalities," says Emil.

Papa Ristoskov (left) with Pierluigi Collina.(Bild: zVg)

Leaving Bulgaria
Emil decided to pursue a career as a referee at the age of 18, when he moved to Klagenfurt to study and left his hometown of Sandanski. "I played there as a junior defender. In Carinthia, refereeing legend Alfred Wieser persuaded me to blow the whistle. That was a good thing! Because the best I could have done was become a Carinthian League player," grins Ristoskov, who has a clear leadership style: "I like to play hard!"

Family support
Dad Hristo, mom Vanja, brother Kiril (kicks in Treibach!), sweetheart Bianka and kids Emil (4) & Alina (6) will be sitting proudly in the stands in Linz on Sunday. "I want to prove myself and am delighted to be representing our province," Emil emphasizes.