The Danes have built up something of a reputation for the quality of their pastries, beer and interior design but it was another Scandinavian export which was at the centre of a Molten Spartan South Midlands League “derby” match between Kent Athletic and Crawley Green on Saturday.

All three Match Officials had flown in from Copenhagen to take charge of the game played at the Kent Athletic ground in Luton and it was soon clear that they would stand no nonsense. The referee, Anders Poulsen, and his two Assistants Peter Marcussen and John Larsen, were invited to England as part of an exchange agreement between the North Herts Referees’ Society and their counterparts in Copenhagen.

The officials were accompanied by a liaison officer Torben Iversen to ensure that someone was on hand should any unforeseen problems arise. He needn’t have worried. The game ran extremely smoothly with Kent Athletic running out deserved winners by one goal to nil with the winning goal scored in stoppage time at the end of the game.

Afterwards, both clubs complimented the referee and his two assistants on their handling of the match, even suggesting that one or two local officials could learn a thing or two from such a consummate performance.

Referee Anders Poulsen said later, “it was a great experience to referee in England with two well behaved sides.”

The Chairman of the North Herts Society, Perry Gascoine, said he was delighted at the way things had gone and hopes that the Molten Spartan South Midlands League will ensure the event becomes an annual feature.

The idea of an exchange visit arose from regular visits by over 20 English referees, many of them from Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire, to one of the world’s largest international youth tournaments held each summer at Hjorring in Northern Jutland. They help officiate in a competition that caters for over 800 teams from 45 different nations.

As part of the reciprocal arrangement, last month, three local referees, Chris Scott, Geoff Lewis and Rob Smith were invited to take charge of a Copenhagen County League game between Bronshoeg BK and Dragoer BK. Well-known Hitchin official, Carl Couzens, accompanied them as Liaison Officer. The game finished 4-3 and included a sending off and a deciding penalty in the very last minute.

Before flying home from Stansted Airport on Sunday, the Danes challenged their English counterparts to a game of Ten Pin Bowling and also took charge of matches in the Hitchin Sunday League.