AIFF president calls review meeting with Referees Committee after spate of cards, complaints in ISL

All India Football Federation (AIFF) President Kalyan Chaubey has called for a meeting with the Referees Committee and Chief Refereeing Officer Trevor Kettle on 31 December to review the refereeing situation in the country. A team of referee assessors will also attend the meeting which will also discuss the way forward on the matter. “AIFF President @kalyanchaubey is set to meet the members of the Referees Committee, AIFF Chief Refereeing Officer Trevor Kettle, and a team of Referee Assessors on December 31, 2023, to review refereeing issues and discuss a way forward,” the AIFF said.

AIFF President @kalyanchaubey is set to meet the members of the Referees Committee, AIFF Chief Refereeing Officer Trevor Kettle, and a team of Referee Assessors on December 31, 2023, to review refereeing issues and discuss a way forward.#IndianFootball ⚽ pic.twitter.com/AsSyXgTtUQ

— Indian Football Team (@IndianFootball) December 25, 2023

Refereeing decisions have been a hot topic of discussion in the footballing world recently, and even more so in India, after seven players were sent off in the Indian Super League (ISL) match between Mumbai City FC and Mohun Bagan. Additionally, seven yellow cards were also shown in the match won 2-1 by hosts Mumbai City on  20 December. East Bengal had also lodged a complaint about the refereeing decisions in their match against Odisha FC in the ISL. Earlier this month, Chaubey had called for better respect shown towards match officials, after Turkish Super League was suspended following violence directed towards the referees. AIFF President, it is believed, has told senior officials of the federation since several ISL and I-League clubs have complained over the supervision of some of the matches this season. In the meeting, he is expected to take a stock of the situation and formulate appropriate steps for taking Indian football ahead. “He has decided to meet the members of the refereeing community and find out what exactly could be the right way to improve upon the situation,” according to a source.