Rajesh D’silva
rajesh @herald-goa.com
PANJIM: The Indian Super League has showcased talent par excellence in football with international names on many of the clubs line-up list but what actually left a bad taste with the celebrity coaches was the poor standard of refereeing.
Zico, FC Goa coach was visibly upset when the AIFF) issued him a notice for for criticizing the performance of the referee. This was Zico’s first notice in his coaching career and he had all the reasons to be upset.
Nilesh Dina Vaigankar, Goa Professional League referee was quick to defend his fraternity.
“We have a small window to notice fouls. It’s just a split second glace which we take on field and decide on the situation. But at no point of time we are overwhelmed with the teams profile or their stars at the game. We are in control and we perform fearlessly,” informed the grade 3, 2 and 1 level referee from Siodem.
There was an instance when Delhi Dynamos’ marquee player-manager Roberto Carlos was also disappointed with the refereeing in their 2-0 defeat against FC Goa.
Roberto had accused Zico’s team of wasting time by going down on the ground far too often in the final quarter of the game.
Cesar Farias, former Venezuelan coach the NorthEast United coach shared the same sentiments. The standard of refereeing he believed was not upto the mark. He was disappointed that the referee failed to spot the foul by Sehnaj Singh on Seityasen Singh on the edge of the box in the second half.NorthEast United had suffered a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Delhi Dynamos then.
“We are responsible for the match. At times when we falter we are pulled up by the Match Commissioner right after the game. Though I have never officiated the ISL games but the rules are common,” informed Nilesh.
“A quick analysis is done after very match and the refereeing standards are rated. Incase a mistake is noted the Match Commissioner cautions the referee,” added Nilesh
Players’ safety is at stake if referees fail to punish horrifying and violent tackles.
In the southern derby between Chennaiyin FC and Kerala Blasters. On the stroke of half time, Kerala midfielder Mehtab Hossain, committed a two-footed stamp on John Stiven Mendoza when the Chennai forward was lying on the turf. Kerala were 0-2 down and Mendoza had scored one of those goals.
Another blunder from referee Pratap Singh on November 20, he failed to send Didier Zokora off after the Pune City midfielder blatantly lashed out at FC Goa’s Leonardo Moura from behind. In a case of mistaken identity, Singh took his time and eventually booked Kalu Uche instead of Zokora.
“The refereeing at the ISL is of international standards. World famous players are in all the clubs and we have assistants to guide the officiating referee. But as I said it’s just a split second glace that helps us take decisions. It may be good and bad at times,” said Nilesh.
