Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Uzbekistan may have been denied a place in the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2011™ final following their now infamous 6-0 hammering at the hands of Australia but the Central Asian republic will still be represented in the eagerly awaited tournament showdown, with three-time AFC Referee of the Year Ravshan Irmatov.
Compatriots Rafael Ilyasov and Abduhamidullo Rasulov, as before in Qatar, will assist Irmatov in the finale which sees the Socceroos seeking to deny Japan a record fourth Asian Cup title by following the lead set by the Australia women’s national team and claiming their first continental triumph as a member of the Asian Football Confederation.
The name Irmatov is well-known in Uzbek refereeing with Ravshan’s father Sayfitdin a national category official who handled Uzbekistan Premier League matches until 2000.
Had Irmatov senior stayed on the scene for just another year than he could possibly have officiated with his son Ravshan who, after injury had curtailed his playing career, made his debut in the Uzbekistan first division championship in the spring of 2001 before being called to work alongside Premier League referees just a few months later.
Back then it was usual that FIFA referees would begin their international careers as assistants but this was not the case with Irmatov, who was included on the FIFA list in 2003 upon the recommendation of experts who recognised Ravshan’s potential at the first AFC Workshop.
That year, Irmatov was included in the list of referees to officiate at the FIFA U17 World Championship in Finland, where he displayed the courage of his convictions that have become synonymous with the 33-year-old ordering a Portugal penalty against Yemen to be taken three times after players encroached into the area on two occasions.
In 2004, Irmatov made his AFC Asian Cup debut putting the Uzbek well on the road to becoming one of the continent’s – and indeed the world’s – finest match officials.
Three year’s later he took charge of the AFC Champions League final between Urawa Reds and Sepahan (in which current Australia coach Holger Osieck led the Japanese side to glory) before officiating the FIFA Club World Cup final in 2008…the year Irmatov first win the AFC Referee of the Year award.
A second consecutive AFC Referee of the Year award followed as Irmatov continued to impress in Asia and beyond and in 2010 he reached a milestone in his career when he officiated in the opening match of the FIFA World Cup between hosts South Africa and Mexico.
Irmatov would go on to officiate in four more matches – including the semi-final between Uruguay and the Netherlands – becoming only the third referee in history to handle five games in a single World Cup.
Needless to say, it was no surprise when Irmatov went on to complete a hat-trick of AFC Referee of the Year awards.
Nor is it any surprise that he is entrusted with the biggest match at the biggest AFC Asian Cup of all time, although Irmatov remains typically modest at the appointment.
"I would like to thank the AFC for their confidence,” he told www.afcasiancup.com
“Every match is very important to me, whether final or preliminary stage.
“Here in Qatar I worked on three games, two of which, the meeting between Iran and Iraq and Iran’s quarter-final with Korea, could be considered very tense.
"But when refereeing a match all players are equal, all teams are equal. There are rules that I must follow.
Irmatov continued by saying that he makes a point of watching as many matches as possible involving the teams he will be refereeing but added that family always comes first.
"I always try to watch matches of the future teams so that I will be aware of any details that require particular attention and here we have a TSG (Technical Study Group) who have all the matches.
“I also try to call home everyday. It is important for me to feel the support of my family.”