Originally posted by teammelli1
View Post
-
German referee Babak Rafati has broken his silence over his reasons for attempting to commit suicide last November, just hours before he was due to officiate a Bundesliga match between Cologne and Mainz.
The 41-year-old was discovered in the bathtub of his hotel room in Cologne by his assistant referees on November 19 last year, having slit his own wrists.
After his condition stabilised, Rafati was treated for depression in a hospital near Hanover, but while he will not return to refereeing in the Bundesliga, he revealed that he has made a full recovery.
"I am healthy again," he told the website of German daily Bild, 151 days after his suicide attempt. "I was in a seemingly hopeless situation.
"It was a stroke of luck that I got help in time. I am glad that I survived."
Rafati's suicide bid shocked Germany, two years after national goalkeeper Robert Enke took his life in November 2009 by throwing himself under a commuter train.
Rafati, who is of Iranian origin, says he is planning a three-week vacation in Asia with his girlfriend and is still receiving regular supervision from a depression specialist.
He says he is considering whether to return to his job in a bank and is planning to marry his girlfriend later this year.
Rafati spent six years as a Bundesliga referee, officiating 84 games in Germany's top flight, and was a FIFA-nominated referee between 2008 and 2011.Leave a comment:
-
It can never be the right choiceOriginally posted by Shervin. View PostLeave a comment:
-
imagine if he was a ref in IPL? He's be gone by now..
Hope he bounces victorious from this mess.Leave a comment:
-
A referee who attempted suicide before a Bundesliga match last weekend was suffering from depression, which left him feeling increasingly unable to deal with the public pressure surrounding his job, his lawyer said Friday.
Babak Rafati, 41, was found bleeding in his hotel bathtub two hours before he was due to take charge of a game between Cologne and Mainz last Saturday. He has now been released from the hospital.
Lawyer Sven Menke said in a statement that doctors treating Rafati diagnosed him with depression over recent days.
Rafati believes that the first symptoms surfaced about 18 months ago and they have since intensified, Menke added.
“In Mr. Rafati’s personal perception … growing pressure to perform for him as a referee and the media pressure linked to that—in combination with the constant fear of making mistakes—became a bigger and bigger burden,” he wrote. “A burden that, at some point, made even everyday problems seen insoluble and which, in the end, he no longer felt able to cope with.”
Menke said that Rafati has decided to “deal openly with the illness and face it.” Once he has been through therapy, he “wants to be able to return to his normal life, as a referee too,” the lawyer added.
The incident shocked German football and came two years after Hannover and Germany goalkeeper Robert Enke, who suffered from depression, committed suicide by stepping in front of a train on Nov. 10, 2009.
In September, Ralf Rangnick abruptly stepped down as coach of Schalke because of burnout, only six months after taking charge of the club.
German football federation President Theo Zwanziger said it was “important and right” that Rafati decided to face up to his illness and seek professional help.
The federation said it would give Rafati “every possible support that he wants.” It noted that he also could draw on help from a foundation named after Enke that is dedicated to the research and treatment of depression.
Rafati has been a referee for the German federation since 1997 and a top-division referee since 2005. He has taken charge of 84 Bundesliga matches and been a FIFA referee since 2008.
The Cologne-Mainz match was postponed as a result of Rafati’s suicide attempt. It has been rescheduled for Dec. 13.Leave a comment:
-
my opinions personally on suicide is that occasionally it can be the right choice. If u have never had depression or suicidal thoughts it can be very very hard to unerstand but it really is an odd thing.Leave a comment:
-
It is the most terrible thing you can do to your family. I wish Babak a fast recovery and hope that he can get some professional help. My thoughts are with his family!Originally posted by persepolisfan View PostLeave a comment:
-
That would make sense. He was by far the worst referee. There used to be plenty of his wrong calls on youtube.....hard to find now coz all vids are related to his suicide issue. poor guy, hope he recovers fast.Originally posted by KC McElroy View PostLeave a comment:
-
A German top-flight referee who attempted to kill himself hours before a major Bundesliga match last weekend did not have football-related motives for the act, a report said on Monday.
"It was not to do with the pressures of football," the Koelnische Rundschau local daily cited a police source as saying.
The referee, 41-year-old Babak Rafati, was discovered in the bathtub of his hotel room in Cologne having cut open his veins.
He left a suicide note, which revealed that he had "personal reasons" for his attempt on his own life, the daily added.
Speculation has raged in the German media as to why Rafati had tried to commit suicide.
Some have suggested it was because he was dropped from the German international referee list. Others that it was because he was frequently dubbed the Bundesliga's worst official.
His father, Djalal, said there was no hint at his son's turmoil and that he had a steady job as a banker, living in Hanover, and was in a stable relationship.
"He never spoke to me about depression or burn-out. If he had done that, I would have reacted," the father told Cologne newspaper Express on Sunday.
"He was very happy (being a referee). I can't understand why Babak did this."
Rafati was released from hospital earlier Monday, only to be re-admitted at his own request.
His actions shocked the football-mad country, with the story on several front pages, and came two years after the suicide of Germany goalkeeper Robert Enke.Leave a comment:
-
wow, hope he wasn't into trouble rigging games..
wish him speedy recovery...Leave a comment:
-
The father said that his son never talked about any depression, else he would have reacted. Babak Rafati talked to him on phone and apologized .
Leave a comment:
Leave a comment: