Jafar Namdar was the second Asian to referee a match at the FIFA World Cup finals by three days.
Singapore’s George Suppiah had already given Asia their first man in the middle by refereeing the 1974 match between Poland and Haiti on June 19.
On June 22, Iranian Namdar blew the whistle for Australia’s 0-0 draw with Chile in Group 1 in West Berlin. He also beat out 30 other officials to win the linesman’s job for the third-fourth place clash between Brazil and Italy.
While Suppiah will always be remembered as Asia’s original World Cup pioneer, Namdar has his own piece of history to boast about.
He became the first Asian referee to return to the World Cup when FIFA invited him to officiate at the 1978 World Cup finals in Argentina.
In that year, he refereed Poland’s 3-1 Group 2 victory over Mexico in Cordiviola, as well as running the lines for Argentina versus Poland and Sweden versus Brazil.
“It was a very exciting time. Obviously I wanted to do a good job representing my country and Asia,” said Jafar, who also refereed at the 1972 Munich Olympics and 1976 Montreal Games.
Jafar is proud of the fact that FIFA chose him for two straight World Cup finals as well as paving the way for more referees from the continent to participate in the globe’s biggest football tournament.
“During my time, not many Asian referees were selected by FIFA,” he told the-AFC.com.
Jafar Namdar books Soceroo Ray
Richards for time-wasting over a free kick during the Australia-Chilie game in
1974 World Cup
“Now we have more countries participating in the World Cup and, therefore, there are more referees from Asia.
“It takes a lot to be a FIFA referee … a lot of hard work. Asian referees have done an outstanding job in recent years when they have represented our continent in the World Cup.”
Jafar was one of the referees of his time to have had vast experience as an elite player. In fact, he attributes his refereeing skills to his more than 10 years as a professional in Iran.
“I was exposed to the game for a long time before I was a referee,” he said.
Jafar is one of the many past World Cup referees from Asia who are being honoured by AFC to celebrate Asian Referees Year 2009 and Asian Referees Day on September 1.
He praised AFC for their initiative to improve the standards of Asian referees and recognising their efforts.
“I believe the AFC is doing a very good job,” he said. “My suggestion is that they should continue to collaborate closely with referees from Europe and other parts of the world.
“There are a lot of talented referees in Asia who we should develop. AFC should be congratulated for having this year as Asian Referees Year. It is an honour for me and all referees in Asia to be a part of this celebration.”