Bastian Schweinsteiger sent referee a letter of support after his suicide attempt

You have to be made of strong stuff to be a referee.

No matter how many campaigns tell us to respect officials, hardly a week goes by without a referee taking some form of criticism – be it from players, managers, fans or, in particularly high-profile case, the media.

What many of us perhaps forget is that referees at the top level are under enormous pressure.

While most of them appear to deal with this, one Bundesliga referee has discussed how he attempted to commit suicide after a series of mistakes saw his refereeing performances come under increased scrutiny.

Babak Rafati attempted suicide in November 2011 before he was due to take charge of a match in Cologne. Having failed to appear for the pre-match briefing, he was discovered unconscious in his hotel room after his assistants had raised the alarm. He had slashed his wrists.

“I woke in a hospital bed,” Rafati is quoted as saying in The Sun.

“It was a terrible moment, and my first thought was that I would plan things next time I tried to kill myself and do the job properly.

“I had been bullied for 18 months beforehand.  People wanted to get rid of me for telling the truth.”

After receiving support from his fellow referees, Rafati also revealed how he was helped by a letter sent to him by Bastian Schweinsteiger.

“Since my suicide attempt no-one from the German FA has been in touch, but all my fellow refs got in contact. And Bastian Schweinsteiger wrote me a letter that moved me greatly.

“There was no ulterior motive on his part, as he knew that I would no longer be able to referee after this incident.

“He wrote: ‘Mr Rafati, people often make mistakes in life, but we simply have to make comebacks even more often.  I wish you all the very best.’