Already before his retirement as a player, Kompalla attended a refereeing course in 1969 and subsequently abandoned his playing career joining the German Ice Hockey Federation as an official in 1970. In 1972, Kompalla was selected by the International Ice Hockey Federation to officiate at the 1972 World Ice Hockey Championships, including both games between eventual gold and silver medalists Czechoslovakia and the Soviet Union. That same year, he was also selected to officiate the Summit Series between the Soviet Union and Canada. His officiating partner during this series was Franz Baader. Both Kompalla and Baader received criticism from Team Canada during the series, which resulted in Kompalla pairing up with Rudolf Baťa for the final game. During the final game, he called a penalty against Canadian J. P. Parisé who responded by angrily swinging his stick in a threatening gesture at Kompalla. This resulted in a game misconduct for Parise, although Team Canada still won the series securing also Kompalla a memorable place in Canadian sports history and folklore.
