Ref, assistants weren’t on the ball

Among the more incredulous aspects of Sunday’s tragedy in Bangalore is that Subrata Paul was not ordered off for that violent foul. Ref...

Among the more incredulous aspects of Sunday’s tragedy in Bangalore is that Subrata Paul was not ordered off for that violent foul. Referee Maheshwaran Balu of Karnataka, who officiated the Federation Cup final on Sunday, failed to notice it — possibly unsighted or taken by surprise — but what were the other three officials doing?

Rizwan-ul-Haq of Delhi, the assistant referee running the line at the eastern end, might have also been unsighted for the players had their backs to him. But what about K. Shankar of Tamil Nadu, assistant referee 1, with the best view from his point near the main stands? The fourth official Deepak Kumar Dey of Assam was also seated near the centreline behind Shankar.

None of them — all with international experience — brought the incident to the referee’s notice.

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Law 6, clause 5 clearly states ‘‘When misconduct or any other incident has occurred out of the view of the referee, the assistant referee must bring it to his notice’’.

‘‘The fourth official must indicate to the referee when the wrong player is cautioned because of mistaken identity or when a player is not sent off, or when violent conduct occurs out of the view of the referee. The referee, however, has the authority to decide on all matters concerning play.’’

When contacted, Balu refused to say anything on the issue. ‘‘I have given my report and in the light of the developments, I cannot say anything,’’ he added. His three colleagues were unavailable for comment.

Match commissioner MG Suvarna, in Mumbai, said ‘‘All these aspects will come up during the enquiry. I am also surprised why no one brought it up. It is not fair for me to make any other remark at this point of time.’’

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