Our professor in
college always told us, “Journalism can only be learnt when you step onto the
field and not through books.” So as a part of our college assignment, we set
off to Cooperage football grounds to cover the Mumbai School Sports Association
(MSSA) U-16 final match between Bombay Scottish and St. Lawrence School.
Reporting for
the match was a common task so we were asked to take various aspects of the
game as our angle. When I walked into the ground I saw the linesman doing his
job. I decided to base my story on him. Before the match commenced I had a word
with him requesting him to meet me post the game for a chat. He was kind enough
to agree to talk to a rookie like me. My initial angle was only to project how
thankless their job was. What followed left me in shock as well as in shame!
After the game I
managed to catch up with the three match officials and asked them about how it
felt being a linesman in a sport that is not very glorified in India. “The
generation has changed young man. We are not linesman anymore. People call us
Assistant Referees.” one of them told me. I would not like to name the
officials as secrecy would be ideal in such a case.
I broached
the subject of them being in a thankless job. They admitted to this fact but
also mentioned that they loved the game to such an extent that they did not
mind not being thanked for the duties they imparted. During the course of the chat
they also mentioned that their training is of extremely high intensity and it
is only after clearing these tests that they are allowed to officiate in these
games. They also agreed to the fact that they ran more than the players did
during the 90 minutes and also joked that they cannot be substituted either if
they are tired.
It is a
true fact that they do not get the respect that they deserve. Football has a
decent following among the youth of the country. People remember the names of
players, goal scorers and to a certain extent even managers and coaches. But no
one remembers who was the match official and who were his assistants. One quote
from the official brought out the harsh reality of the treatment meted out to
them. He said “When a
team wins, it’s their calibre, when a team loses; it’s the referee’s fault”
What would
you end up doing if you had only Rs. 100 on you? Have 8 Vada Pav’s? Have 20
cups of cutting tea? Or travel in a cab from Byculla to Colaba? I guess none of
the above. You can use them to buy one kg of tomatoes these days. You may
wonder why in the middle of this I asked you about Rs. 100? It is because THAT
IS THE AMOUNT THE OFFICIALS GET PAID PER GAME ON SCHOOL LEVEL! Yes, only Rs.
100.
I would
like to add that before the final commenced, the three officials were also
officiating the Division II final played earlier in the day. So they were running
for almost three hours at a stretch from one end of the ground to another. The
reward for their effort? Rs. 100.
I was
appalled on hearing the same and could hardly muster courage to ask them as to
how did they make ends meet. To my relief, one worked at the Naval Dockyard,
one had a travel agency while the other was a Cop with the Maharashtra Police.
They did this only and only out of love for the game.
I once heard the legendary Kadar Khan say in an interview. “Har koi agar
actor banega to writer kaun banega, director kaun banega.” Similarly, if
everyone wants to be a player, who would want to be an official with such
appalling pay scales!
Football
may not be a glorified sport in the country, especially at the school level.
But the administration has put all of us into shame by paying the heart of the
game a measly sum of Rs. 100. But they can be proud of the fact that they are
better than Raj Babbar or Montek Singh Ahluwalia, who said that we can survive
on Rs. 12 and Rs. 28. In that comparison, Rs. 100 is a huge sum.
While the
day was drawing to a close, we were figuring out as to where do we head for a
snack and the school teams were busy celebrating their achievement on the
field, the three officials, just like every unsung hero, walked into the sunset
with their envelope that may have contained Rs. 100 as a reward for their
services.
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