Every human being has been fighting a battle of his own whether it is on the field or off the field. While FIFA World Cup 2022 has been the focal point of attraction of the world, often we see players being emotional, fighting a personal battle and struggling to make the stage their own. Amidst all of this, away from the spotlight are those individuals who make the game happen, the officials of the game are the true architect of whose one decision can make and break a team’s fortune. But do these officials ever come into the spotlight; do they have a struggle of their own?
While the Qatar World Cup is the epicenter and awaiting the return of key players, the return of Indian assistant referee Subrata Burman in the domestic circuit of India is making the headlines at the current moment. Burman, a veteran of the game has been officiating in the domestic circuit of Indian football since 2005 made his return to the game after two years of struggle and pain having sustained an injury to his right leg in January 2020. Burman was recently seen officiating for the first time in the Reliance Foundation Youth Sports (RFYS) Football 2022-23 season in the Kolkata City Championship.
What happened with Subrata Burman?
Until January 2020, 36-year-old Burman had officiated in more than 30 Indian Super League (ISL) and the I-League, India’s premier football leagues and was one of the most coveted assistant referees (flagman).
However, he met with an unfortunate road accident in January 2020 where he injured his right leg and was put on bed rest for months. The injury forced him to withdraw from the ISL game in Delhi which was supposed to take place in the next few days.
While in his recovery mode, Burman suffered a setback and in September 2020 on the same right leg, he suffered an Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) injury. Upon diagnosis, the veteran referee was advised to have a surgery which was later carried out in December 2020. However, the struggle did not stop there as the leg was in recovery mode, an infection once again dampened the situation and made it hard for Burman to make his return to the field.
While I-League and ISL matches now remain at arm’s length due to the strict fitness routine, Burman is making his return slowly to the game with the ongoing RFYS Kolkata City Championship where the next generation of football stars in India are writing their script. But it won’t be unfair to say, like for that young crop of players, the RFYS is allowing a veteran like Subrata Burman to officiate and make his return to the game. In the end, it is fair to say that it is the willpower that drives the self in a person and Burman is a prime example of it.
In the ongoing season of RFYS where Burman is officiating, it has presence in 20 centres that includes multiple districts within 16 states and 2 UT’s to develop the football ecosystems, such as Assam, Odisha, Delhi NCR, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Telangana, and more with expected participation from over 33,000 athletes and 2,400 teams from across the country bringing students back on the pitch this season.
