Lahore, 3 Feb: “Football is a global sport and its rules must be interpreted and applied with absolute consistency wherever the game is played. PFF therefore has a policy of ongoing training for its referees to ensure that refereeing standards continue to improve and the Laws of the Game are applied the same way everywhere,” this is stated by Pakistan Football Federation (PFF)’s President Makhdoom Syed Faisal Saleh Hayat on the eve of the two editions of PFF Grass Root Referees Course that become part of 13th National U13 Festival of Football in second week of February 2010.
Also AFC Executive Committee Member, FIFA and World Disciplinary Committee member and Chairman AFC Disciplinary Committee, Faisal also congratulated prominent Pakistani referees for their fine work in PFF events. Shafaat Habib (Army) and Shams Pervez ( Lahore) collected Best Referee and Best Assistant Referee Awards in PFF League respectvely while Pakistan Premier League saw Jehangir Khan becoming Best Referee and Irshad Ul Haq Best Assistant Referee.
“The work of these officials and others would be constantly monitored as PFF Calendar 2011 is fully composed of several domestic events. And it is mandatory that each of them shows consistent high-level performance,” said Faisal while adding that the new fitness test is designed to test the physical fitness and mental strength of the referees.
He also congratulated Super Football League’s Most Impressive Referee Khurram Shahzad (Kohat), Rana Naseer Ahmed, Waheed Murad, Shafaat Habib, Shahid Hussain, Muhammad Ali Jr., Rana Jehanzeb Tipu who get the honor of becoming FIFA Referee as world soccer ruling body have awarded a total of seven Referee and Assistant Referee badges for 2011 to Pakistani referees.
“Referees in receipt of a FIFA badge are entitled to officiate at FIFA and AFC fixtures, both at club and international level. I hope that they will keep their fitness level and refereeing for the rest of the year.”
“The quality of the game also plays a major role in the development of refereeing. No referee in the world can claim to be the best in the world. One can only become a good referee when one makes the least number of mistakes,” concluded Faisal Saleh Hayat.