Mercy Tagoe-Quarcoo has expressed her love for refereeing, stating that it was the most enjoyable sport she has ever been involved in.
The 45-year-old is a retired Fifa referee who officiated in the Ghana Premier League (GPL), Caf Competitions and Fifa tournaments – including the 2010 Fifa Women’s World Cup.
At the Germany Mundial. she served as the fourth official in the game between South Korea and Colombia and also the centre referee when North Korea took on New Zealand in the tournament.
Prior to becoming a referee, Tagoe was a footballer. She went as far as representing the Ghana women’s national team.
Though she later transitioned into coaching, Tagoe contends that no other role in football has provided her with the same level of joy as officiating.
“Of all those sports I participated in, refereeing was the best event I really enjoyed. Even though there were hitches with came with hullabaloo, I could sit and read the laws of the game for close to five hours,” she said on Joy Sports’ Prime Take.
“Refereeing is an art. When women learn something and we are doing it, we do it systematically, we do it in a way that people will look at you and ask questions. Even the way we dress to officiate games is one of a kind.
“I learnt it when I went to Portugal for a Fifa refereeing programme. When you take to the field, every eye is looking at you as a referee, make sure you know your stuff, and understand what you doing; you need to interpret the laws of the game on the pitch. You are a judge and should take decisions within a split second.
“But, remember that people have spent so much to prepare their teams for the game and everyone is coming with the mentality of winning the game if you are not able to take the right decisions, it will affect you. It is not your association, it’s affecting you the individual. You are trained as a group, but when you are selected for a game, no one even looks at your assistants, it’s you in the middle. You are human and will make mistakes, but they should be minimal.”
Since her contract as head coach of Ghana’s women’s national team, the Black Queens, expired, Mercy Tagoe-Quarcoo has remained unattached. She was in charge from November 2019 until November 2022.
