In the series “My first place”, prominent footballers (inside) return to their roots. This time also a referee – namely Thorsten Kinhöfer to SV Holsterhausen.

Everyone has that one club where it all began. For former referee Thorsten Kinhöfer, it was SV Holsterhausen. This series was previously available in the print editions of Forecasting. Now it is also available online – with a slight time delay. But the first club always remains the same.

In an interview with RS, Kinhöfer recalled his first station: “I was a goalkeeper for SV Holsterhausen and DSC Wanne-Eickel. As a minor, I was able to referee youth matches on Saturdays and play in the B or A youth team myself on Sundays. When I came out of the A-youth, I was faced with the decision: play in the district league at 3 p.m. or referee in the district league at 3 p.m.? That was a big moral issue for me.“

What tipped the scales in favor of refereeing?

”As a child, I had an elbow fracture and after ten years as a goalkeeper on ash pitches, I already had knee problems. So I decided to focus on the job of refereeing. If that hadn’t worked out, I could have gone back to playing soccer when I was 22 or 23. But if I only played for five or six years, I would have missed out on a career as a referee. So in that respect, I made the right decision back then.”