[UPDATED] Match official Caleb Wales makes World Cup debut on Friday

DAVID SCARLETT

TRINIDADIAN assistant referee Caleb Wales will make his first World Cup appearance in Qatar on Friday.

As a member of FIFA’s elite referee panel since 2013, Wales was selected as one of the 129 match officials for the tournament on May 19 by the FIFA Referees Committee led by refereeing legend Pierluigi Collina.

On Wednesday, the committee poetically appointed Wales as Assistant Referee 1 for the fixture between Wales and Iran.

He will become the first Trinidadian to referee at the tournament since Michael Ragoonath in 2002.

Ragoonath was also an assistant referee and officiated four matches in South Korea and Japan.

They were preceded by Douglas James (referee, USA 1994), Ramesh Ramdhan (referee, France 1998) and Merere Gonzales (assistant referee, France 1998), who all flew the TT flag high at both tournaments.

On his World Cup debut, Wales will be working alongside Mario Escobar (Referee) from Guatemala, Juan Carlos Mora (Assistant Referee 2) from Costa Rica, Maguette Ndiaye (Fourth Official) from Senegal as well as the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) team.

Team One – the name given to the match officials at the tournament by FIFA president Gianni Infantino – will be sporting armbands showcasing the title throughout the campaign.

This is significant in portraying that the game cannot be played without referees and that referees deserve support and respect like the players they are in charge of.

Before the tournament, Infantino said, ”The referees, for us, are not only one team, but they are Team One. They are the most important team at the World Cup because without the referees’ team, there is no World Cup.”

The FIFA president also suggested that fans who get angry at referee decisions should try to put themselves in the referee´s position. “I am as much a fan as everyone else and I get upset as much as you when there is a mistake or when I simply don’t agree with the decision of the referee because I support a particular team,” he said.

“I am asking everyone to try to put yourselves in the shoes of the referees just for a moment – (imagine) you were on the ground in front of 80,000 people in a stadium, a few hundred million on television and you have to take instant decisions which can affect entire countries.”

Also, for the first time in history, match officials at the tournament are displaying their names on the back of their shirts, which will allow Wales to be recognised – by name – by the entire world.

In light of his appointment, Wales told Newsday, “For me, it means a lot to be at the FIFA World Cup. It is the realization of a lifelong goal to be a part of one of the biggest events in the world. It is also a big deal for my family, friends, colleagues, country, and wider region. I intend to do my best and make everyone proud.”

Wales’ World Cup debut fixture between Wales and Iran will kick off at 6am TT time.

This story has been adjusted to include additional details. See original post below.

TRINIDAD and Tobago match official Caleb Wales will make his first World Cup appearance on Friday.

Wales was appointed as Assistant Referee 1 for the fixture between Wales and Iran by the FIFA Referees Committee.

Alongside the Trinidadian will be Mario Escobar (Referee) from Guatemala, Juan Carlos Mora (Assistant Referee 2) from Costa Rica, Maguette Ndiaye (Fourth Official) from Senegal as well as the Video Assistant Referee team.

Team One, the name given to the match officials at the tournament by the FIFA Referees Committee, will be sporting armbands displaying the title throughout the campaign.

This is significant in portraying that the game cannot be played without referees.

Also, for the first time in history, match officials at the tournament have their names printed at the back of their shirts.

Wales’ fixture between Wales and Iran will kick off at 6am TT time.