The competition year has concluded, and not only have the athletes been judged, so have the referees.
As we approach the Olympic Games in 2024, the best referees in the world will prepare to oversee the most important contests in an athletes career, as well as their own. The European Judo Union are proud of the high standard of refereeing we have within the continent and the number of referees that are staples on the IJF World Tour.
Just as the athletes, referees have a ranking system and leading the EJU ranks for men is former athlete, European champion and world medallist, Matthieu BATAILLE (FRA), and for the women, another former athlete, Ioana BABIUC (ROU).
Both Bataille and Babiuc have an 8.6 rating in the referee ranking and are exemplary representatives of the EJU.
For more information on the leading referees, click on their profiles for the 2021 Olympic and Paralympic Games: Ioana BABIUC and Matthieu BATAILLE. The full EJU Ranking List is available here.
Author: Thea Cowen