Women as Match Officials

Football viewers across the world were in for a surprise on the 22^nd of January. The ever-dynamic paradigm of football experienced a revolutionary measure when for the first time in the history of the sport; a woman, namely Sian Massey officiated in the Wolverhampton Wanderers-Liverpool game. Barring a few misogynistic spectators, most viewers welcomed it as an encouraging move. Facing the huge risk of drawing flak from feminists, this blogpost seeks to discuss how the move would impact the attitude of footballers and commentators on the field.

It is often said that football is a gentleman’s sport played by hooligans. With the introduction of women as match officials, bull-doggish protests by players would from now on be a thing of the past. In my view, player-referee run-ins only add to the spice of a match. Depriving us excitement-starving hooligans of a few violent and passionate moments is nothing but criminal!

Also, football presenters and commentators would from now on have to tread extreme caution while passing comments about referees. Expect no more damning judgments by the otherwise outspoken and forthright Martin Tyler and Andy Gray. Any criticism of a questionable decision by a female referee would draw a barrage of abuse from the feminist circles.

Despite all the issues surrounding the inclusion of women as match officials, the move will do a world of good in the empowerment of the female gender that has for decades been considered inferior to the male sex. It is my strong belief that this move is for the present and most certainly the future!

The Year of The Leaks

The year gone by can most certainly be classified as the year of the 'leaks'. From the infamous Wikileaks to the hugely controversial Niira Radia tappings, the year 2010 has seen it all!

It all began in April 2010, with the publication of the 2007 video, ‘Collateral Murder’, bringing the merciless killing of Iraqi civilians and journalists by U.S. Forces into the public domain. Wikileaks followed this round of leaks with the release of comprehensive details of the wars waged by the U.S through the 'Afghan War Diary’ (released July '10) and the 'Iraq War Logs’ (released October '10). With its slogan as 'We open governments', Wikileaks ended the year with a bang releasing certain 'U.S. State Department Diplomatic Cables’. This new round of leaked cables were the communications between diplomats in the American Embassies all around the world and The U.S. State Department back in Washington D.C.  The American Government, in absolute damage-control mode, condemned these cables for jeapordising international diplomatic relations and global security. In an attempt to curb the actions of the 'Jacobins-like' organisation, the American Congress notonly introduced an 'Anti-Wikileaks' bill, it also instructed its national banks and organisations such as Pay Pal and MasterCard to cancel all transactions to and from Wikileaks. 

Meanwhile in India, the leaked telephonic conversations of lobbyist Niira Radia with influential politicians, businessmen, journalists and bureaucrats created all the buzz. As is evident from these conversations, Radia not only succeeded in securing important ministerial posts for her clients, but she also played a pivotal role in getting government policies tweaked to favour her business contacts. Taking full advantage of the embarrassing situation that the ruling-coalition found itself in, the BJP-led opposition questioned the morals on which the UPA functioned. It wasn’t only the political class that was affected. Journalists and bureaucrats such as, Barkha Dutt, Prabhu Chawla and Sunil Arora too were at a loss for words. Ratan Tata moved the Supreme Court in order to curb the leak of these tapped conversations, as he believed this invaded the privacy of individuals.

I for one am a strong supporter of these leaks. Not only do such leaks keep the common man informed, they also help in bringing the ugly face of governance out in the open. If it weren’t for the leaked diplomatic cables, we wouldn’t have seen the real face of American diplomatic relations. Also, if the telephonic conversations hadn’t been made available to the public, we would have had no idea about the murky interlinking of politics and business in India. As far as I am concerned, keep the leaks coming!