FIFA’s decision to reduce Malta’s quota of international referees and assistant referees has inevitably caused discontent among the local refereeing community but Adrian Casha, the MFA’s director of refereeing, urged match officials to see the glass as “half full rather than half empty”.
Casha made his appeal when addressing officials before the presentation of the FIFA badges, held during a social event at the Grand Hotel Excelsior this week.
“We need to compare like with like,” he said.
“Although we have lost one FIFA referee slot and two for assistant referees, Malta is still ahead of other small nations as well as others with a bigger population.
“I urge you to see the glass as half full rather than half empty.
“FIFA have embarked on a process to cut the number of officials from various countries to be in a better position to give more appointments to the ones they select.
“Through this measure, FIFA are removing the anomaly where-by a referee receives only one appointment during the year which is certainly not enough for them to properly evaluate the progress of every official.”
The officials on this year’s FIFA panel are Esther Azzopardi Farrugia, Marco Borg, Clayton Pisani and Alan Mario Sant (referees); Alan Camilleri, William Debattista, Christopher Franca-lanza, Mitchell Scerri, Edward Spiteri and Ingmar Spiteri (assistant referees); Franco Cachia (futsal); and Stefan Pace and Jude Amin Utulu (beach soccer).
Referee Kevin Azzopardi decided to call time on his career after losing his FIFA status but is expected to take up a new role as match observer.
Assistant referee Duncan Sultana missed out on selection while Mariano Debono, who was on the FIFA list last year, has retired due to a series of injuries.
Looking back on 2013, Casha said it was an important year for the refereeing sector as there was a rise in international appointments for Maltese refs, 17 compared to 12 the previous year.
“Besides the increase in the number of appointments, the Referees Department continued to work hard to create more opportunities through international friendlies, the highlights being the match between Italy and San Marino in May and the Poland-Slovakia friendly in November, both controlled by Marco Borg, and the Under-21 friendly between Cyprus and the Czech Republic which was officiated by Clayton Pisani,” Casha remarked.
“There was a continuation of the exchange programmes with Wales, Latvia and Ireland while we also embarked on similar ventures with four new countries – Holland, Andorra, Finland and San Marino.”
Casha also highlighted other significant events last year, including training camps, seminars and workshops that featured the participation of foreign officials, the completion of the Referees Department’s headquarters next to the Centenary Stadium, the implementation of the additional assistant referees project and the courses organised by the Referees’ Academy.
“Hugh Dallas, a UEFA Refereeing Officer, visited Malta in Nov-ember to monitor the work of the refereeing sector,” Casha said.
“He was full of praise for the level of organisation at the Referees Department, so much so that in his report he wrote: ‘the model currently in place can be used as a shining example for other National Associations within UEFA’.”
Meanwhile, David Elleray, the former international referee who is now a UEFA Referees Committee member, will be the main lecturer at the MFA’s annual winter seminar to be held on February 15-16.
English referee Howard Webb is also expected to visit Malta in the coming months to give a lecture to his Maltese counterparts.