From player to EBEL referee: The cool Finn from Neumarkt

When Turo Virta speaks, he does so carefully. He explains in a slightly broken South Tyrolean dialect, in which sometimes a High German word is mixed in, sometimes an English word. He wants to be understood. And most of the time he is understood, or so it seems. Born in Scandinavia, he is an independent personal coach, fitness trainer and nutritionist. He is used to being listened to. He talks completely calmly SportNews -Talk about his career away from the workout mat and resistance bands. He doesn't want to give the impression that he has taken special paths. The life of the now 38-year-old has a lot of strange things in store.

His sporting career began in Tampere, the third largest city in Finland. Virta grew up there and learned to play ice hockey there. Later, as a teenager, he moved to the small town of Hyvinkää just outside Helsinki, where he made his professional debut in 2001. Two more stops followed in Finland's second highest league before he moved from the Baltic Sea town of Kokkola to Neumarkt, 2.000 kilometers south. The defender completed his first Serie B season there. Two seasons followed in the German top league before he returned to the Brenner for love. After stints in Torre Pellice, Meran and Kaltern, Virta settled in Neumarkt, where he hung up his skates in the spring of 2012 after 461 professional games. “I never want to go back to Finland” He married his Miriam five years ago and has now long since become at home in the Neumarkt district of Vill. “I never want to go back to Finland. People here are more spirited, more passionate. And the weather is better too,” he smiles.

Whether in the ice rink or in the garden at home: Turo Virta likes it sporty. © private

Virta is fully occupied in his role as a fitness trainer, and yet: the sport of ice hockey has not let go of him. “When I was playing in Finland, someone suggested the job of referee to me. Somehow the idea was always in the back of my mind,” says Virta. So he took his skates off the nail again, but without picking up the stick. Instead, he put the whistle in his mouth and from then on whistled youth games in northern Italy. Things quickly happened in quick succession: From the junior ranks, he was promoted to what is now the IHL as a linesman, he quickly advanced to head referee and then on to the Alps Hockey Leauge. There, referee observers gave him such a good rating that he was allowed to play in the EBEL for the first time just six years after his debut in the striped dress. He never made it that far as a player. He has now refereed HC Bozen twice, the last time in January in the Eiswelle in a 4-0 win against Villach. He has been commuting back and forth between the two cross-border leagues for two years - partly for work reasons. Virta's weekend starts Saturday night Refereeing remains a part-time job for Virta, or as he describes it: “a passion hobby”. A look at his weekly program reveals what he means by passion. “I have training until Friday evening at 22 p.m., followed by a trampoline course on Saturday. Then I get in the car and drive to the game. Depending on the distance, I come home at night or early Sunday morning. Then I have a day off before we start again on Monday.” For EBEL games, the weekend program is slightly changed and even more intensive. “In Italy there is a lack of respect for referees” But the quiet man from the north doesn't allow himself to be stressed, quite the opposite. “EBEL is a lot of fun. Because of the high level and the pace, you're always under high tension, but that's the great thing about the job. In addition, the way we are treated off the ice is much more professional and respectful than in the lower leagues," Virta is referring to experiences from his early days as a referee, "Even in the AlpsHL there is still cooperation between players, supervisors and referees. This mutual respect is missing in Italy's leagues. As a referee you have to listen to a lot. This makes someone think twice about whether they want to continue on this path. We urgently need new blood in our ranks.”

Virta is a man with clear opinions who demands respect but also respects others. If you ask around in player circles, you'll hear a lot of praise and recognition for the performances of the South Tyrolean by choice on the ice. The Kufencracks particularly appreciate his calm manner and his friendly charisma. “In every team there is a smart guy, a provocateur. You know these players and you have to know how to deal with them. But they're not criminals, they're basically all good guys.” And somehow, says Virta, that's what makes it so attractive. “No referee in any other sport has to have so many scenes on the screen at the same time or react so quickly and so often. That's the fascination of the sport of ice hockey." As he speaks these sentences, something happens: Virta's voice rises, suddenly seems uncontrolled and the passion he spoke about at the beginning comes into full effect.

ICE Regular Season ICE	SP	TV	P
1. Klagenfurt	47	183:101	102
2. Fehervar	46	146:126	89
3. Salzburg	46	142:107	87
4. HCB South Tyrol	46	137:125	76
5. Linz	46	146:116	75
6. Villach	46	155:136	74
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From player to EBEL referee: The cool Finn from Neumarkt

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