The Football Sports Development Limited (FSDL) has organised an ‘Open Communication Forum’ between the Indian Super League (ISL) clubs’ Head Coaches, officials at All India Football Federation (AIFF), and its Referees Department to discuss a number of aspects related to developing the officiating of the games and communication between coaches and match officials.

The purpose of this first-of-its-kind meeting, held on Thursday, was to acknowledge the need for two-way communication between the coaches and the AIFF's appointed referees, to have a constructive discussion while reviewing the matches, and on the continued development of the match officials. As the first step, a specifically allocated time following the match-day will give the opportunity to coaches to discuss with referees aspects of the game that may have arisen where clarity is required and both parties can discuss issues that will benefit the overall development of the game in line with the international best practices in football.

AIFF's referee department has assigned 12 referees and 14 assistant referees for the ongoing ISL 2020-21 season. In addition, Adley Costa and Ramesh Babu have been attached to the 26-member referee group with ISL as referees' coach. All stakeholders involved believe this collective approach to further develop a training and education programme will improve the required level and consistency for officiating in Indian football.

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