By a Staff Reporter
Kathmandu – Nine out of ten male FIFA referees of Nepal have submitted their resignation to All Nepal Football Association (ANFA) en masse.
The referees resorted to resign en masse amid the ongoing Qatar Airways Martyrs Memorial A Division Football League due to ANFA’s pressure for mandatory fitness test. The referees submitted their resignation letters to ANFA General Secretary Indra Man Tuladhar at ANFA Complex, Satdobato on Thursday.
The referees who had taken fitness test on September 23 were instructed by ANFA to undergo another fitness test on December 23. The referees had stated that they would not be able to undergo the test while the league was underway. They had urged ANFA to stop the league if the fitness test had to be taken at any cost. The referees said that they opted to resign after ANFA did not respond positively to their demands.
In the previous years, the referees used to undergo fitness test once a year. However, the were under pressure to undergo test within three months after ANFA appointed India’s Gautam Kaur as the referee director.
“ANFA president accused us of groupism and being involved in politics without going through our written letter,” said one of the referees, adding, “We decided to step down due to the insult we had to face.”
Kaur was appointed the referee director by ANFA about three and a half months ago. However, his appointment couldn’t be free from controversy. While seeking application for the referee director, ANFA had put forth a criteria that demanded the position holder to be a match commissioner as well. This effectively closed the doors for other international-level applicants who were aspiring for the job. Kaur had been allegedly giving undue pressure outside his jurisdiction ever since he was appointed to the post.
“We are ready to resume our jobs on condition that we are assured such behavior will not be repeated again,” said the referee requesting anonymity.
Those who resigned from the post were three out of four FIFA referees and six assistant referees. FIFA assistant referee Yunal Malla, who is not in Kathmandu at the moment, as also verbally informed about his decision to step down.
List of FIFA referees:
Nabindra Maharjan
Prakash Nath Shrestha
Prajjwal Chhetri
List of FIFA Assistant Referee
Naniram Thapa
Bikram Chanduary
Kishan Yadav
Yunal Malla
Madhav Khatri
Sahadev Shrestha
