Officials 'blocked Asian referee' 

          By Ian Burrell, Home Affairs Correspondent 

          24 March 2001

          The career of a successful Asian football referee was
          blocked after a senior Football Association official said
          "we don't want people like him in the Premier League",
          it was alleged yesterday. 

          Gurnam Singh, 46, claimed at an industrial tribunal that
          he was unable to officiate at top games because some
          football administrators took exception to his racial
          background and were "determined to get rid of him". 

          Mr Singh, an accountant from Wolverhampton, is
          claiming racial discrimination against the Football
          Association, the Football League, the Premier League
          and the National Review Board, which oversees
          promotion and demotion of referees between the
          Premiership and the Football League. 

          At the resumed employment tribunal hearing in
          Birmingham yesterday, Alan Seville, a former regional
          referees co-ordinator who was responsible for assessing
          officials, said it became apparent at an early stage that
          Mr Singh was being unfairly treated. He said this was
          despite the fact Mr Singh regularly performed well at
          games in lower divisions and was first in a merit order of
          49 Football League referees during the 1994-95
          season. 

          Mr Seville recalled a meeting in which Ken Ridden, the
          FA's director of refereeing, is alleged to have said: "We
          don't want people like him [Singh] in the Premier
          League." 

          Mr Seville, who worked for the Football League,
          added: "It is my belief that Mr Ridden's comments
          clearly demonstrated the fact the football authorities did
          not want an Asian referee to be refereeing in the Premier
          League." 

          Mr Singh is also alleging unfair dismissal against the FA
          and the Football League. All the claims are denied. 

          From "The Independent"

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          "Perceptions" note:

          "Power corrupts - and only the corrupt _want_ absolute
          power"

          and, from http://www.perceptions.couk.com/tax.html

          "PROVEN STATEMENT - All English judgmental decision-making
          is heavily and institutionally corrupted by class / race
          prejudice.
    
          See http://www.perceptions.couk.com/laworjustice.html#News
          & http://www.perceptions.couk.com/ed1.html#Deselection
          & http://www.perceptions.couk.com/medical.html#PROVEN
          & http://www.perceptions.couk.com/answers1.html#other  

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