While Kyrgyz Kochkarov, an ethnic Uzbek, was running the lines in the opening match of the 2010 FIFA World Cup in Johannesburg, his family were hiding in a basement of his house in his strife-torn home city of Osh.

His wife, eight-year-old son and elderly mother spent two days there, fearing for their lives as mobs reportedly went on the rampage from June 10-14 against the minority ethnic Uzbek population.

His mind was spinning and his heart heavy with worry. Offsides and late tackles should have been insignificant. But under the glare of the world spotlight, Kochkarov had no choice but to wield his flag to the best of his ability.

“The turmoil in Kyrgyzstan happened on the night of June 10 but I only found out this early the next day when I received many SMS messages from friends and relatives,” Kochkarov told www.the-afc.com in an exclusive interview.

Family focus

Kochkarov was part of Uzbek Ravshan Irmatov’s refereeing team at the FIFA World Cup and the trio, which also featured Rafael Ilyasov, received praise for their performance in the pressure-filled opening match.

Indeed, they went on to officiate in a record-equalling four more matches at the tournament, including the semi-final between Netherlands and Uruguay.

As soon as the match finished, Kochkarov made desperate attempts to contact his family.

“I only managed to reach my wife and family members after the match. Thank God, everything was okay in the end. And my house was still in one piece,” said Kochkarov.

Still, it was a traumatic experience for the hardened 40-year-old, having to keep his emotions in check while his city burned.

He was fulfilling a life-long dream to be involved in the World Cup. At the same time, the lives of those closest to him were in kochdanger thousands of miles away.

The choices he had to make were harder and more life-impacting than deciding whether or not a player was marginally offside.

“I read the (news on the) Internet and kept in touch with my family everyday while I was in South Africa. But even then, as a husband, a son and a man, I couldn’t help but worry about my family, relatives and friends.

“You won’t be able to understand this because you were not in my shoes,” he said.

Fulfilling his duty

Despite the emotional distress, Kochkarov fulfilled his touchline duties expertly and his team, with Irmatov taking the lead, was among the best trios at the World Cup.

“I have prepared for my World Cup debut for years and I was dying to be involved in this world football extravaganza. No matter how worried I was, I still wanted to go and do my job in a professional manner,” he said.

“I was completely focused on my work even though I was desperate to see my family with my own eyes. If I lost my focus, I don’t think I would have been able to continue until the semi-final.”

He said Kyrgyzstan problem, had no effect on his relationship with Uzbeks Irmatov and Ilyasov.

“We are all family. We have mutual respect for each other; we have telepathic communication and understanding between each other too. In short, our relationship is special.

“In fact, both of them and fellow referees were fully supportive of me in one of the most difficult times of my life. I truly appreciate their concern, help, encouragement … everything.”

After the situation calmed down in Osh and other parts of south Kyrgyzstan, Kochkarov was able to reflect on his performances at the World Cup.

Satisfied

Overall, he was satisfied and felt that his presence in South Africa may have helped to lift the spirits of the Kyrgyz people, even a little, in the aftermath of the riots.

“Many people around the world only realised there was a country called Kyrgyzstan after this … for the wrong reason,” he said.

“However, I am happy that I managed to play a small part to help my country. Actually, there are more positives than negatives about this small country.

“We used to say it in Russian, ‘Olympics stop the war’. Nobody wants war to happen. A peace world is what we all want.”

Indeed, his main focus now, from a referees’ point of view, is the 2012 London Olympics and 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil.

“I am only 40 and I feel that, physically and mentally, I am still young enough to go for it.” he said.

No one doubts Kochkarov’s qualifications to play his part in future big tournaments. And having overcome some tough hurdles in South Africa, on and off the pitch, running the lines in front of billions of people would be the easiest job in the world.