Refereeing in Goa is taken as a hobby or past-time by many,but the state does have some serious takers who have made it to the eliteranks. And though one hopes the standard of refereeing in the state and Indiaimproves, as most clubs, especially the I-League ones, feel that referees arebiased, lack uniformity and fairness in their decisions, it takes much morethan mere knowledge to be a good ref.
Goculdas Nagvenkar, an ex-Fifa assistant referee and currentAIFF match commissioner, cleared the air and lifted the veil of my eyes and myone-track perspective towards a referee as he deliberated on the skills neededto be a good referee. “As opposed to officials in other sports, footballreferees have just fractions of seconds to make a decision,” he says. “It’s nojoke being a referee. Opposition to our decisions during the game is always amatter of opinion. A club’s only interest is in fouls, if it is in theirfavour. And the number one cause of difference in opinion is that thespectators are not versed with the laws of the game.”
On the subject of referee development in the state, programsare in full swing since 2004 where the main aim is to impart referee trainingto the maximum number of students through orientation courses in collegesaround the state. Sadly, the last two to three years has seen a significant dipin the response to these programs, he revealed. Simultaneously, refresherclasses are held once a year for existing referees. Wondering if that issufficient, it is heartening to hear that the Goa Football Association (GFA)and the Goa Football Development Council (GFDC) are currently working towards aplan to increase training programs for referee development.
The GFA has also approved an insurance cover for all Goareferees for the first time, considering the pay scale that referees are at.Levin Rodrigues, a referee who officiates second division matches, whileelaborating on the pay structure said, “For every match under the GFA, I getpaid Rs. 300. If it is a local match not under the GFA, then a referee wouldmake around Rs. 3500 per match plus perks.”
What about the interference of club officials during a game?AIFF has recently released a specific code of conduct to all clubs andofficials and by recent issues concerning Dempo coach, Armando Colaco andplayer, Climax Lawrence, it seems the code of conduct is being meticulouslyimplemented.
Nagvenkar while stating that a referee’s physical fitnessform should be higher than that of a player, finishes off by saying “One mustnot forget that referees are humans. If state-of-the-art technology is madeavailable, it would definitely minimise mistakes that referees make. Refereeingis an art!”
