They want me to see you in Los Angeles in four years

Bulgaria’s best volleyball referee Ivaylo Ivanov officiated a total of nine games at the Paris Olympics. After returning to Sofia, the referee was interviewed by the official website of the Bulgarian Volleyball Association.

Asked if he had imagined making his Olympic debut, Ivanov said: “Honestly, no. I was honored to be sent to Paris to compete. I left with a small basket and the goal was to enjoy it. I said to myself: “Whatever happens!” It was a great and beautiful thing for me, and I didn’t feel nervous or nervous in any of the competitions. In the bronze medal match, I didn’t think that the previous competitions were unimportant.”

Asked if he expected to make it to the minor final of the Olympics, the Bulgarian commented: “I hoped, but I didn’t expect it. I thought so privately. The forum is very big and the level of all the judges is very high. That’s why I didn’t have too high expectations.”

According to him, the quarter-final between Italy and Japan was the most difficult because of the twists and turns. “Japan had three match points and it looked like everything was over. Then he did a 180. Italy won in the end. It was a tense match,” said Ivaylo Ivanov.

Asked if there were ever moments when he wasn’t confident in his decisions, Ivanov said: “No, not at all. In all the competitions I was very calm and confident in my decisions. I wasn’t worried. We didn’t get numerical evaluations. “The Olympic judges rated me very highly overall and they wanted to see me again in Los Angeles in four years, and that’s the best proof of that.”

Asked how the Olympics differ from other events, the Bulgarian replied: “There is nothing in common – the emotions, the participants, the spectators, all the excitement and the delightful chaos of all the matches. I was struck by the fact that even in principle at the Brazil-Kenya match there were 10,000 people in the hall. We met with the president of the Bulgarian Federation and we discussed the success of the Olympics to all Bulgarian referees. The Olympics mean a lot to all my colleagues, we have a common vision on how to develop referees, our goal is to get more referees to the highest level, we will once again have two referees in the FIVB rankings. The maximum quota.”

When asked who was the most interesting person he had met in Paris, Ivaylo Ivanov revealed: “Zidane. I’m a big fan of Real Madrid and this is an extraordinary honour. I can’t believe it. Zidane has come as an ambassador of Olympism and he has visited many sights.”

As for his goals, Ivanov concluded: “To consolidate the level I have reached, I have laid the foundation for the next few years. I hope that Paris will not be my last Olympics.”

Photo: Start Photo