Major League referees add to ISL’S high standards
NEW DELHI: Amidst the hubbub at the Salt Lake Stadium surrounding the opening ceremony and inaugural match that unveiled the Indian Super League, many might have missed a debut of a different kind. Active Major League Soccer (MLS) and Fifa-recognised international referee Christopher Penso officiated in his first match in India as Atletico de Kolkata got past Mumbai City FC. He was into the action very early when he showed Syded Rahim Nabi, the Mumbai captain, a yellow card in the second minute.
While there has been some hue and cry about marquee players such as Alessandro del Piero and Nicolas Anelka being over the hill, no such complaints could be made about the foreign officials conducting the matches.
“We have gone to great lengths in ensuring that there are no complaints about the standard of refereeing in this league,” AIFF director Gautam Kar said on the sidelines of a function where the ISL Fairplay Award was unveiled here on Tuesday.
“Not only have we organised various training programmes for the Indian referees, conducted by Fifa instructors (including the final joint training conducted by an instructor from Japan), we also have foreign referees from MLS and other international leagues. All current referees,” he added.
Penso is, in fact, one of a select group of Fifa referees in USA, making him eligible to officiate in internationals including World Cup and Olympic Games.
TRAINING DONE
“Domestic referees have also been trained in various unique aspects such as handling of technology and dealing with marquee players,” Kar added.
The Fairplay award will use a rating system where the team that is deemed to be the cleanest (in terms of using unfair means or committing infringements) is declared the winner at the completion of the tournament.
Amidst both concerns and hopes on whether ISL can actually improve the standard of Indian football, refereeing standards of the game in the country can also theoretically undergo a sea change through this dialogue between local and foreign referees.