No Indian referee for U-17 World Cup

Sabi Hussain

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, August 18

For the young footballers representing India at the FIFA Under-17 World Cup, it would be a proud moment to play in front of their home crowd. Unfortunately, Indian referees have been denied this opportunity. Despite India being the host nation, FIFA hasn’t picked a single Indian referee to officiate in the World Cup, to be played across six venues from October 6 to 28.

On Friday, FIFA named 63 match officials for the tournament. For the first time, FIFA selected seven female officials as support referees. Gautam Kar, who is the head of referees department in the All India Football Federation (AIFF), said FIFA’s decision not to include a single Indian referee did not surprise him. “The referees selected by FIFA are among the most talented at the junior level football. By naming them for the Under-17 World Cup, the world body wants to prepare them for bigger assignments, possibly the senior World Cup in 2018. Maybe, FIFA didn’t find a single Indian referee who could handle the pressure of officiating in a World Cup,” said Kar.

Incidentally, Kar is the only Indian to figure in the list of match commissioners appointed for the World Cup. It’s the first time an Indian has been named a match commissioner at the World Cup.  Till date, Komaleeswaran Shankar is the only Indian to officiate in the junior World Cup. He had also officiated in the senior World Cup as an assistant referee in 2002.