Meet The Referee With Deformed Leg-Disability....

Meet The Referee With Deformed Leg-Disability Is Not Inability It is not difficult to recall Mr. Enock Andieri after a football match. Mr. Andieri is a central referee who is always on the run while umpiring a match, but a close look reveals that he is disabled. The 28-year-old was born with a rare disability condition which rendered his both feet deformed so severe that he can’t make a move without his special shoes. From a distance, he visibly struggles not only to walk but also to run, nonetheless he has defied this disability rules. “I started gaining interest in refereeing while I was in standard 7 where I used to ref our school inter-classes in 2003,” Mr. Andieri recalls, while he was still at Ebuhonga Primary School. As he narrates, his insatiable appetite in football grew more profound as he scaled education ladders. “After high school, I got involved more in annual high school and primary school football competitions,” he says stating that he learned more skills during this period. “I have also officiated at other local leagues in Khwisero constituency when the school competitions are on break,” he tells lifestyle. Such leagues included C.D.F (constituency development fund) cup, Khushiku sub-location under -18 cup and provincial qualification match for the adults. On one of the clinical matches between Mbaabo FC and Black Santos FC under-18, Mr. Andieri is the central referee, assisted by two linesmen. After he whistles off to start the match, he knows very well that umpiring is not a walk in the park; he has to run and keep up with the pace of the ball. But with his feet facing each other due to deformation, he can easily cause an accident to himself, he has to find away to overcome this challenge while maintaining a hawk-eye. “My moves are well calculated before I make any run because I just need to know where I am stepping,” he explains further stating that he jumps at some areas that are quite dangerous to his feet. Though he hasn’t received a professional hat in refereeing, he has mastered quite skills from his trained colleagues. For instance, a corner is being served by Black Santos FC, he knows that he is supposed to be outside the 18-yard-box, he explains that this avoids a loose ball that could bounce on a referee and cause a score as one of the possible mistakes. Sometimes, a counter-attack is made by the opposite team, their speed could be so fast even for able bodied centre referees, and thus just like them, he relies on the respective linesman who is better positioned to spot an offside or a bad play, he says. Mr. Gilbert Omukhweso, his counterpart says: “His performance is very impressive because he is keen on small mistakes such as hand balls and poor tackles.” He says also that he enjoys working with Mr. Andieri because he is responsible enough to his assigned duties. He doesn’t complain despite his condition. The players have also enjoyed Mr. Andieri’s unbiased decision-making as they say. Mr. Wilfred Samba, Mbabo FC captain says: “Since I started playing under him, I have always been satisfied with his decisions.” Mr. Samba says that he has never had serious complains from his mates including their rivals. Apart from just the obvious complains from the losers. Before he ventured into refereeing, he was a midfielder to boot, playing position 10 under Blue Eagles FC. Mr. Andieri competing to remain relevant under such environment that requires able bodied individuals has come with enough bags of challenges. “Stigmatization is one of the challenges am facing because most people tend to think that I will underperform,” he says pointing out that the people think that he might make unfair judgment. Some ill-mannered funs hurl unprintable abuses at him in regard to his condition, but he says that these are some of the pain disabled individuals have to endure for being born different. “Due to my condition, I can’t officiate at more than 2 consecutive matches at a go,” he states another challenge. Therefore, as he explains, he has to take some extra rests unlike his other capable bodied counterparts. The Arsenal supporter quit playing football because it involved frequent injuries unlike refereeing, he says. When the leagues take a break, Mr. Andieri will be at Mosoriot Teachers Training College where he majors in P1-Primary teaching. At home, the husband to Malyne Lamadede and father to Geoffrey Ramsey is a refreshing small-scale farmer who keeps rabbits and chickens. “Disabled people can do the best as compared to the able bodied,” he says advising other disabled that people will believe you if you believe in yourself. In future, he wants to train and become more competitive in the field of refereeing to a national and international level. He would be very happy if he got a sponsor.