Fitness & knowledge key for match preparation: Rowan Arumughan

NEW DELHI: While the regulated lifestyle and rigorous training regimes of footballers — who work diligently to improve fitness in the gyms, follow stringent diet plans, study various tactics to function as a team — is well known, what often tends to escape one's attention is the equally intense behind-the-scenes preparation undertaken by match officials to ensure the game is enjoyed on the playing field.

Referee Rowan Arumughan recently opened up about the crucial role that meditation plays in his pre-match routine.

"Meditation is a part of preparation. It helps the referees focus and improve concentration. However, there are many other aspects too. Fitness is first. A referee has to maintain fitness throughout the year, there is no off season. At any given time, he has to be ready for a fitness test. If a person is not fit but has all the knowledge - what is the use of putting him on the field of play? No one will accept that," said the FIFA panel referee while talking on AIFF TV.

"Knowledge of the 'Laws Of The Game' is also of paramount importance. If the referee is fit but not aware of laws then again there's no use of putting him out there," added the referee who in 2011 was picked to officiate in Lionel Messi's first game as captain of Argentina as they went up against Venezuela in a FIFA friendly at the Vivekananda Yuba BharatiKrirangan in Kolkata. IANS

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