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Lessons from the World Cup

Tougher days are ahead for referees, thanks to the increasing use of technology on the field

PHOTO: R. RAGU

TIME FOR ANALYSIS Football referees (from left) S. Suresh, K. Sankar, P. Basker and T. Pradeep Kumar in discussion.

When four members of the FIFA panel meet, what else can they discuss but football? And with the World Cup on in Germany, the discussion has perforce to be on the refereeing. "It has been an education so far," agreed the quartet — S. Suresh, P. Basker, K. Sankar and T. Pradeep Kumar (the last two being Assistant Referees). Incidentally, the four have given Tamil Nadu a unique record as the first State in the country to have so many on the FIFA panel at one time. Ever since Sankar's rise to become the first Indian to do duty at the World Cup (Korea-Japan 2002), refereeing has had a special focus in this State. There is a genuine interest among those who take to the whistle to do a good job and get noticed.

It is a different matter that Sankar suffered the mortification of seeing his candidature for the current World Cup getting sidelined at the last minute for reasons other than his capabilities. "All that remained for me to do was get the visa and step onto the plane when suddenly I was told my name had been removed from the original list," said the experienced official who has done over 100 international matches that included not only World Cup but also other prestigious events like the Under-17 World Cup, Confederations Cup and the Olympics.

Brushing aside the disappointment, this Indian Bank employee chose the next best option: to sit with his colleagues in Tamil Nadu and examine the ups and downs of refereeing in the World Cup. It is the unanimous view of the foursome that "the job has become tougher because of technology".

Stamp of authority

"Clearly a referee has to be extra sharp in his judgment and be close to the action as much as possible," felt Baskar, a former AG's player before taking up refereeing. On the other hand, Pradeep said there was added pressure on assistant referees since the camera now picked up the offside ruling with so much clarity. "The slightest slip gets magnified," said this Central Excise employee, while admitting that a few offside decisions surprised him too. But, he said a few rulings had the stamp of authority too.

Sankar, on the other hand, mentioned the level to which players too have mastered the art of `diving' at the slightest opportunity. "At the speed with which the game is played, such incidents can be tricky to judge with the naked eye. Of course, it is difficult to ascertain whether a player feigns injury but all these have become part and parcel of modern football, and in slow motion on television, such on-field incidents can be cause for embarrassment. Nonetheless, the overall standard of refereeing did not dip," he felt.

To Suresh, a former Chennai Port Trust player, what was revealing about this World Cup was the strict implementation of some of the new rules like cautioning for `holding' and `tackling from behind'. Besides, like Sankar, he agreed the fitness levels were high. "The important thing about doing duty in the centre is not only fitness but positioning correctly and showing presence of mind and this was seen in a large measure this time," he said. But sometimes technology can deceive the eye. A case in point was the late penalty award given to Italy in that pre-quarterfinal match against Australia. It had looked spot on at the first instance. The referee had watched the action from the top of the penalty box and he was clear. But when the camera from the sidelines produced a slow motion version, it was enough to create doubts in the minds of all viewers!

The World Cup will end in another few days. Whoever emerges the winner, one thing is clear: tougher times are ahead for referees what with technology increasingly creeping into the football arena.

S. R. SURYANARAYAN

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