Refs on whistle-stop duty as ISL and I-League run parallel
FIXTURE PILEUP FOR REFEREES
the Indian Super League (ISL) and the I-League together has had Indian referees virtually living on jet planes. This has meant increased opportunity and fatter paycheques but also the risk of running some of them to the ground.
Consider this: Tejas Nagvenkar did four games between December 22 and January 10, two in each league. That meant Nagvenkar was in Chennai on December 22, in Kolkata one week later, travelled to Bangalore for the ISL game between Bangalore FC and ATK on January 7 and was in New Delhi three days later to supervise the Delhi Dynamos and Kerala Blasters tie.
Pratik Mondal did two I-League games in four days last December. For that he travelled from Kozhikode to Aizawl. Then there is R Gupta, who did ISL games in Kochi and Kolkata on January 21 and 25.
“There is no rule but conventionally, a seven-day gap between games is provided for especially if referees need to travel,” said Milan Dutta, former head of the referees’ unit of the All India Football Federation (AIFF).
Workload or not, some refereeing decisions have got coaches in the ISL hot under the collar. FC Pune City’s Ranko Popovic was given a four-match touchline ban and fined ~5 lakh for ripping into A Rowan’s handling of the game against FC Goa on December 23. Chennaiyin FC’s John Gregory was banned for three games for public display of anger at Ranjit Bakshi’s handling of their tie at Jamshedpur FC on December 28.
“Referees’ assignments have been a massive challenge this time. Initially, the referees too were worried and, yes, there have been teething problems but I think, by and large, their supervision has exceeded expectations,” Goutam Kar, Director Referees, AIFF, said from New Delhi.
With the ISL keen on improving the refereeing standards --they hold workshops where experts from UEFA visit --- the idea has been to give Indians more game time. Running parallel from November 25, the I-League too has ensured more referees get top-level work.
Since the ISL does not improve their international standing, foreign referees are reluctant to come. Interestingly, the ISL’s most glaring error so far came in 2014 and an Indian wasn’t in charge. Uzbek ref Ravshan Irmatov denied ATK’s Luis Garcia a goal against Kerala Blasters after the ball had crossed the line. By then, Irmatov had been part of two World Cup finals and an Olympic Games.
KOLKATA:Holding
Tejas Nagvenkar: Two ISL games in 3 days --- Bangalore (Jan. 7) and New Delhi (Jan 10). R Gupta: 2 ISL games in 4 days --- Jan 21 (Kochi), Jan. 25 (Kol). Pranjal Banerji: I-League and ISL game in 5 days --- Jan 28 (Kozhikode), Feb. 2: Pune