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A different card game
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Referees from Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu took part in a recent seminar on the rules of the game
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PHOTO: K. V. SRINIVASAN
ON WHAT'S FAIR AND FOUL M. G. Suvarna, AFC referees instructor, with the participants at the seminar Photo: K. V. Srinivasan
Those who had dropped in at the Nehru Stadium a few days ago witnessed an unusual spectacle on the football turf — a group of `players' was trading blows in what looked like a free for all. Before long, the `referee' had taken control, quickly separated the warring players and flashed a red card at the `culprit' and signalled him to leave the ground. None for a moment thought there was anything amiss until they heard a chuckle from another group of officials who were watching the show. The episode happened to be just an enactment of a match situation by a group of referees, as part of their study of the `fouls and conduct' rules of the game. The occasion was the AIFF sponsored seminar and fitness test that 59 referees from the States of Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu took part in.
How to tackle such unpleasant happenings on the turf and how to act swiftly and identify the source of all the problem was the essence of the study that M. G. Suvarna, AFC Referees instructor and chief coordinator, assisted by another AFC Instructor Anthony D'Costa and AIFF coordinator Ravi Shankar wanted to impart to the participants.
Like in any field of sport, even at the officiating level, the focus is increasingly on finesse while being correct with decision-making. To be precise, there is a specific method of tackling untoward moments in a match. The positioning of the referee, the no nonsense look on his face, the way he brings out and displays the dreaded cards (yellow and red) and the clear signalling of what he wants the offending player to do (to leave the field), everything matters.
As Suvarna, a former assistant general manager of Central Bank of India, a distinguished referee in his days both at the national level and FIFA, put it, "Refereeing has become a lot tougher now. Today, football is not all about enjoyment and exhibition of playing skills. Negative elements have also crept in, adding to the demands on a referee. And then, there are the television cameras hounding you at each turn. Ultimately, players need to be protected and the flow of the game should not be lost."
"Look at how players now simulate the dives or the way they feign injury," he said. According to him, there is evidence that during the EURO 2004, players of some teams were actually coached in the art of diving (inside the penalty area) and various other negative aspects to win decisions in their favour from the referee!
The World Cup in Germany showed how these acts had been perfected, making them tricky to the naked eye even though the referees were close to the action. TV cameras captured them vividly and "that is when referees appear to get exposed," he said.
Nonetheless, Suvarna felt refereeing overall was of a high standard in the World Cup. There were close decisions but some wonderful goals too and that is what mattered. In every sense, the refereeing one saw at the World Cup was an education, felt both the instructors.
True problem factors like `diving' and `feigning injury' threaten to mar a game but it is for the FIFA to ponder if stricter punishments need to be meted out.
S. R. SURYANARAYAN
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