A referee cannot afford to be star-struck: Rowan Arumughan

India's Rowan Arumughan, who officiated in the Lionel Messi-led Argentina versus Venezuela FIFA friendly in Kolkata in 2011, says a referee cannot afford to be star-struck.

The FIFA referee on Monday termed the match at the Salt Lake Stadium his "most memorable".

Arumughan said it was key to not get star-struck as he took charge of a match which saw Messi captain Argentina for the first time.

"That is the most memorable match for me. Gautam sir (Col. Goutam Kar (Retd.) and Ravi sir (Ravi Shankar) asked me to keep it simple and count it just as another match," Rowan told www.the-aiff.com.

"I still remember Gautam sir's words: Don't get star-struck. At the end of the day, you are the referee. They may be Lionel Messi, Angel Di Maria but you are the boss at the ground. Act as you act in the domestic matches."
"Both teams played the same brand of possession-based football, they were looking to cut in diagonally from the wings to hurl attack on the opponents."
"I started my career with Pratap on the same day, back in 1999. Biplab da was senior and much more experienced than me, so was Dinesh who had already done quite a few Kolkata Derby matches until then."