Ex-FIFA referee Santhosh Kumar delighted to officiate match featuring his son

Kottayam: Siblings playing same time on a football pitch is not uncommon. But a father officiating his son's game should be rare.

It was this unique experience that seasoned referee MB Santhosh Kumar and his son Govind Bhaskar had the other day during a seven's tournament in Kottayam.

Former FIFA referee Santhosh officiated a U-15 academy tournament in his hometown, SH Mount, Kottayam and one of the matches involved Al Etihad Sports Academy where his son Govind trains.

"I told him to play fair or you'll get a booking," said Santhosh. "I was a bit tensed, but I did not commit any bookable fouls," Govind replied.

The 14-year-old marshalled the Etihad defence and so nearly kept a clean sheet. "It was a good game and we won 5-1," Govind said.

After the match, the proud referee-dad hugged the disciplined defender-son. He also shared a happy snap of the two at full-time.

In his prime, Santhosh was one of India's finest referees. He famously officiated Indian legend Baichung Bhutia's testimonial against German giants Bayern Munich. In fact, an iconic picture from that historic 2012 match is still his Facebook cover image.

While it is hard to top the experience of refereeing superstars like Thomas Mueller, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Philipp Lahm and others, Santhosh says he'll treasure this chance he got to whistle in a game featuring his teenage son.