Pierluigi Collina, FIFA head of referees, to train Indian officials to improve refereeing

Indian football referees have often been accused of poor decision-making. There are mistakes that cost clubs heavily. There have been several occasions when clubs complained to the All India Football Federation (AIFF) for poor refereeing.

Now, to cut down on such mistakes during matches, Pierluigi Collina, the FIFA head of referees, will come to India to have training sessions with Indian referees officiating Indian Super League matches.

“For the last few matches, there have been refereeing errors and, despite our efforts, I feel improvements are required. Indian referees are making human errors.for I understand it’s a thankless job, but their mistakes can cost teams a trophy, perhaps another opportunity to play international football," AIFF president Kalyan Chaubey was quoted as saying by Times of India.

Chaubey had requested FIFA president Gianni Infantino to help the Indian federation improve its officiating status during the 141st Congress of the International Olympic Committee's Executive Board in Mumbai.

“The Fifa president was on the same page with me. I have requested him to send Pierluigi Collina to India for training sessions and his presence here could help a great deal. The Fifa president has agreed,” Chaubey added.

Italian Collina, arguably the best referee football has ever seen, officiated the 2002 World Cup final and the 1999 UEFA Champions League final.

Meanwhile, FIFA’s chief of global football development, Arsene Wenger, is also expected to arrive in India next month. According to the report, both Collina and Wenger will visit together.