Tokyo (AFP)

A former policeman at the Mirail in Toulouse, the French international referee Romain Poite has filed before leaving to Japan the memory of his second master he wants to get on his return to offer "choices" when the time of his retirement sporty will arrive.

Romain Poite, 43, is one of five French referees for the World Cup. In the first phase, he will conduct three meetings and will be assistant four times.

In November, upon his return, he is expected to support his work whose theme is "the professionalisation of the arbitration structure". Goal ? Win a Bachelor of Business Center Management awarded by the Toulouse Business School (TBS), which would crown a year of efforts between "matches and training sessions".

The idea of ​​this former investigator is to be able, at the end of his career, to work in "the world of business that (l) 'attracts", "in sport" or to return "in the police".

"I wanted to have the choice, now I have the comfort of having three opportunities," says Romain Poite, married with two daughters (20 and 15), who holds "only the bac" before having resumed his three years ago, to obtain a Master 2 in sports organization management at the University of Aix-Marseille.

- Japan, "a reward" -

Despite his 35 matches to referee per year and the World Cup on the horizon, he still sacrificed last year to launch an ultimate challenge: a second master. "It has been complicated to manage," admits the international, elected five times the best French referee.

The announcement of his selection for his third world, "perhaps the last", the official felt like "a reward". And even if he was overwhelmed because he had to finish his memory, while continuing to train, he is so happy to live "a great adventure" with his colleagues but also his family, who will join him. "This selection puts the handkerchief on some ailments," he admits.

He never imagined that his career as an arbiter would lead him so high. In 1994, it was his father who asked him to arbitrate. And at the time, while he was a player - a third line center "painful" - he had accepted because he had said he "would open less" on the ground and "would come out less Saturday in the cafes ".

When he entered the police academy, his superiors had recommended that he stop rugby. "I naturally ended a career that would not have been an accomplished career," he smiled, acknowledging that the arbitration allowed him "finally to live his passion".

"I did not ask myself questions, I followed the course of the water," said Romain Roite who simply sought to reach the "top of the pyramid" of arbitration. And has succeeded.

© 2019 AFP