Kiss and Say Goodbye

Impression - you will not get a second chance to create the first impression. Respect is gained not demanded. The higher is your level of performance, the more humble you should be, not to fill your head with air or be 'taqabur' (proud) over it. Opportunity strikes once. Life is not about getting what you want but keeping what you have. Those are among phrases that I have highlighted through out this whole year. Its not about the writing nor the reading but the understanding and feeling what that had been read and getting the mind set to undergo a paradigm shift towards attaining success. Success do not come easily but I believe that these are the ingredient of success .
Achieving the height of success in refereeing is not only about getting fitter, understanding the laws of the game better, its interpretation and implementation, positioning well in play, using the cards wisely and timely nor penalising all the fouls seen.
Being a total or full person in refereeing is the strength of them all. Being respected even before we get into action or blowing the first whistle or through the word of mouth (WOM) from a player to another of our existence, our performance, our strengths and our weaknesses plays a vital role in refereeing. Hasty action and impatience often leads to wrong displacement or outcome. Being respected by our personality or presence is better that forcing others to respect us by using the cards. Identifying and penalising correctly and fairly is clear as crystal if done sincerely, fairly and trustworthy. Actions often say louder that words. What has been done cannot be undone. Willing to admit the mistake and wanting to make changes in oneself is the rational and wise decision to take.
When a referee walks out in the middle of a game due to what ever reasons (difficult players or unruly spectators), he will give the spectators a clear picture of his personality - afraid or not courageous to face problems or running from it, not sincere and lack team spirit by walking out on the team-mate and leaving them stranded when they really need to rely on his assistance, lack of responsibility in carrying duty to the fullest and cannot be depended upon in times of trouble. Can this be the potential future FIFA Match official? I guess the opportunity is being kissed and said goodbye!
Courage is a strong word and courage is the most important among the other elements in refereeing. Without courage, the ability to make strong critical decisions, the guts to take strong disciplinary action on serious misconduct among players or officials or making the right decisions at the right time will fail. It is a matter of believing on what God has created and lay out for us and accepting without questioning what ever outcome God has planned for us. Being afraid of Allah is the ultimate fear that to be afraid of other people. Thus all decisions and actions taken in refereeing should be done without fear or favour. This will then reflect the true virtue and excellence in a person.