by Ravi Nagahawatte
Newspapers have promised it to be a thriller. It’s 4pm and the officials at the gate have begun to turn away some of the rugby loving crowds as the tickets are all sold out. Some die hard supporters, who don’t take no for an answer, climb a tree to get a glimpse of the match. Half an hour later, the two teams come on the field to limber up. The minutes tick away before the crowds will start to scream at the top of their voices. At the end no one screams. The match is called off due to the absence of a referee. Spectators make heroes out of players and go to the extent of making them demi gods. But this referee who didn’t turn up could have demanded the sun and the moon on that day so that the game could have been played. He is probably the most wanted person on a day like this. But what’s sad is that many won’t accept this fact and take for granted the role of a referee. This imaginative story that this writer cropped up could come true if the appointed referee fails to turn up when last year’s champs Kandy Sports Club take on Army Sports Club on June 28 at Nittawela. At the time of going to press there is a story cooking up that the key fixture between Kandy Sports Club and Army Sports Club is to be affected as the appointed referee Dilroy Fernando has refused to officiate in matches that the former club is involved. It is reported that a committee member of Kandy Sports Club has written to the Sri Lanka Referees Society (SLRRS) requesting the removal of Dilroy Fernando from Kandy Sports Club matches. What has bugged Kandy SC is the fact that Fernando has been assigned to officiate in several key fixtures where the club from the hill capitol is involved. To keep a long story short the SLRRS has had no other option but to look to Fernando as none of the top class referees in Sri Lanka are available on these dates. Fernando has stood his stance and asked for an apology from the Kandy SC authorities. But the letter sent from Kandy doesn’t mention about an apology but instead asks why the SLRRS can’t give the opportunity to another referee to blow in key matches. Surprisingly the games controlling body, the Sri Lanka Rugby Football Union (SLRFU), at the time of writing this story, has been silent on the matter.

True enough there can be certain amount of curiosity when one particular referee is repeatedly assigned to officiate in matches where one particular club is involved. Curiosity can lead to suspicion when a referee is an active member in a club which is tipped as one of the favourites for the title. But where Fernando is concerned he has been around long enough for people to know that he can’t afford to have club loyalties when having the whistle around his neck. As all know that Fernando is an active member of CR&FC they also know that he is the top referee that the country owns. From the Fernando that we know he hasn’t left a doubt, even as small as a grain of sand, that he has been biased in any of his assignments. If he had been a referee with a past to hide he wouldn’t have won the confidence of the IRB.

Kandy SC is a trend setter in the sport of rugby. While envying the progress of the Kandy SC other clubs have tried to master its approach to the sport. The club carried an air of invincibility during the past seasons. Kandy SC has never bothered about referees in the past. Its concern about the referee this season leaves us wondering whether the club gets cold feet before a crucial fixture. As far as all know there hasn’t been any rift between Kandy SC and Fernando. When taking into consideration the available referees only Fernando can ensure that the Kandy SC-Army game will go on smoothly. It won’t hurt the officials of Kandy SC to tender an apology to Fernando. After all Fernando is doing an honorary job and he has to drive 72 miles from Colombo to be present at the match. It is time Kandy SC knew that it has no other option but to welcome Fernando with open arms and make him the club’s guest come the day of the Kandy SC vs Army match.