Be it in India or abroad, the rise of various players-coaches-club officials in the world of football and their lifestyles are covered in detail. But without any publicity, another group of people ran from one end of the two goal posts to the other without stopping like a pendulum for five thousand four hundred seconds. Whose whistle can change the character of the match and the fate of the players in an instant. They are ready to calmly deal with the noise of players, coaches and countless spectators present on the field. They are none other than in football terms they are called referees. They are also not immune from eye-blinking during the game. While refereeing figures such as Pierluigi Collina have risen to the headlines, the rest are almost forever in the limelight. But they are the last word, the important pillar of the world's most popular sports. Only they can tell what amount of nervous and mental stress they go through in a continuous 90 minute sports battle.
From Player to Referee
Ramachandran Venkatesh, the best referee of the 2023-2024 season as judged by the All India Football Federation. He hails from an ordinary middle-class family in Perambur, Chennai, South India. Since childhood, the interest towards sports and football was in his blood. That day, the ten-year-old boy began to fight on the field with the ball. Studying up to class 12 in a sports institution in South India, this young Turk excelled as a goalkeeper for various teams in regional level leagues in his home state. Later, graduated in Chemical Engineering from Sriram College of Engineering, Anna University, Chennai (2008-2012). Along with his graduate studies, he played regularly in the university's football team. Y. joined with the purpose of making a profession of the addiction of wanting to play. M. C. He completed B. Tech, M. Tech and M. Phil respectively from the College of Physical Education. At that time, the wheels of his career began to turn in the other direction.
Refereeing Journey
Venkatesh's refereeing career began at the age of nineteen with Jaipaul Fernand playing a key role in his transition from player to professional refereeing. Since then, his interest in officiating matches gradually increased. Stephen Charles (Former National Referee and Central Bank of India), Edwin Lewis and M. Coming into contact with people like Kumaran, he became more motivated to develop himself as a match official. He cites the undeniable contribution of Venkatesh's 'Future India Project' (launched in 2010 by Shankar Kamleswaram and Col. Gautam Kar, the then AIF Referencing Director) in establishing himself as a national referee. Since then, his journey to a bright future began. After completing this two-year project, he made a place for himself in the 'South Asian Selection' (2011-12) and moved to Nepal. Not stopping here, Venkatesh left for Malaysia to sharpen and polish himself for 'AFC Project Future' (2012-13). Basically he enrolled in establishing himself as Chief Match Official. Needless to say, his skill, hard work and he left the pressure of creativity. He was among the 9 most qualified among the 15 participants from various South Asian countries. He was on par with young talents from developing countries like Korea, Japan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. In 2014, Venkatesh's next destination was to play in the English Premier League Ramachandran got the status of national referee in 2017. In this context, he appreciated the monthly salary of the All India Football Federation.
In parallel, he also passed the course towards life war with a cool mind. He lost his father when he was only ten years old. Rather, he is moving forward with a steely mentality of not giving up. Just as he had to make split-second decisions on the playground, he had to take the next step in life instantly after getting an education in technical education. He said, "After completing engineering, I had only two options either to get a job through campus job and spend the rest of my life normally or to become a referee. It is very challenging to choose such a profession in a third world country like India. Once you get injured here, you have to come back to the field. Very difficult. With an uncertain future in mind, I studied physical education so that I could at least become a physical education teacher later on."
Challenges and Triumphs
When asked how difficult he finds it to manage the players on the field for 90 minutes continuously, Venkatesh replied, "I enjoy that time immensely, I come to the football field like a fierce competition between two teams which gives me and my work an extra boost." That's why I look forward to managing the Kolkata derby (Mohunbagan-East Bengal). The roar of the fans-coaches-players on the field sharpens my decision-making ability." He added, "Nowadays modern football has become a very fast game. During a match we have to go up and down for about 10 to 12 km. Physical and mental fitness is very important for this. We have to be constantly updated with the changing statistics. Stay as close to the action as possible. I try to make decisions impartially. The television audience or the fans in the field judge the decisions from their point of view. As a result, they cannot accept any decision. I always try to make my judging angel larger".
When Ramachandran was asked about the turning point in his professional life, he said, "Me, Vairamuthu, Manoj Kumar (Assistant Referee) and Bhaskar (Referee Coach, Ex-FIFA Referee and currently Referee Inspector) at the "Referee Excellence" program organized by UEFA in Switzerland in 2016. Participating in what will remain one of the most instructive chapters of my career".
Talking about the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) technology, Ramachandran said, "It is very important to bring this infrastructure to our country. Almost all Asian countries are enjoying the benefits of this technology. As soon as this technology arrives in our country, we will be ahead of the rest of the powerful countries in the world. The quality of refereeing will improve. At the end of the day, those who are match officials are human, and we can re-evaluate the decision once more with the benefit of technology."
Talking about his motivation off the field, Ramachandran said, "My family is everything to me. My mother has always been by my side in my long struggle of twelve years. She has kept me away from all criticism. Besides my mother (Gomathi M), I am also my wife (Felixia Venkatesh, Univ. level basketball player) without a doubt, the way he has been by my side in every moment of the battle. As a sportsman himself, he can understand the difficult times.
Finally, Venkatesh said, "I would like to thank personalities like Ravi Shankar, Suresh Srinivasan, MB Santosh Kumar and Bhagwati Raj. They are my role models in the world of refereeing. It is only because of their advice that I have come this far. And the two who cannot be mentioned are Kalyan Chaubey (President of All India Football Federation) and Trevor Ketel (Chief Referee Official). These respected people have been by my side throughout the season.
