Indian referee in the FIFA panel, Rowan Arumughan says besides having top fitness and understanding of the laws of the game, a football referee also needs to perform consistently to earn the respect of the players.
Arumughan, who officiated in Lionel Messi's first match as Argentina captain in a FIFA friendly against Venezuela in Kolkata in 2011, said a referee also needs to know "skilful players who can challenge the referees".
"Information about teams and players becomes important... They should know about the players who are skilful. These are the players who can challenge the referees," Arumughan told AIFF TV.
"We need to be consistent. If you do well in one match and not in the next, it doesn't work. You need to perform consistently over time to gain respect. When you gain respect, players understand that this referee minds his own business, so that makes life easier."
The top Indian referee said meditation plays an important part in his pre-match routine.
"Meditation is a part of preparation. It helps the referees focus and improve concentration.
"Fitness is first (part). A Ref has to maintain fitness throughout the year, there is no off season. Any time, he has to be ready for a fitness test. If a person is not fit but has all the knowledge what is the use of putting him on the field?"
He says knowledge of the laws of the game is of paramount importance.
"If the referee is fit but not aware of laws, then again there's no use of putting him out there.
"Another very important thing is teamwork. When we go to officiate, along with the assistant referees and fourth official, we all work as a team, to come through a situation successfully. Without the team we cannot succeed in any aspect.
(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Dear Reader,
Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance.
We, however, have a request.
As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more, so that we can continue to offer you more quality content. Our subscription model has seen an encouraging response from many of you, who have subscribed to our online content. More subscription to our online content can only help us achieve the goals of offering you even better and more relevant content. We believe in free, fair and credible journalism. Your support through more subscriptions can help us practise the journalism to which we are committed.
Support quality journalism and subscribe to Business Standard.
Digital Editor