Prashanth hangs up whistle, to continue commitment to football

Prashanth Rajkrishna

Popular Sri Lankan football referee Prashanth Rajkrishna, a FIFA/AFC referee, has decided to step down from all refereeing activities at the age of 39. 

He announced his decision last week, bringing to an end an 11-year career referring major local and international matches.

Rajkrishna commenced his refereeing career in 2007, following his departure from competitive football after suffering a serious injury during a mercantile game playing for Dialog. Thereafter, refereeing kept him in the game, fuelling the desire and passion he has for the sport. With hard work and a string of strong outings, he was nominated to the FIFA referees panel to represent Sri Lanka in 2015.

As a FIFA/AFC referee, he has officiated World Cup qualifiers, AFC Asian Cup qualifiers, AFC Champions League and AFC Cup matches as a 4th official as well as officiating international friendly matches, functioning as a referee in Hong Kong and the Maldives. 

During this journey he has taken charge of some top level matches and was named the Best Referee in the Dialog Champions League Tournament in 2015 and 2016. His final big game was the 2017 FA Cup Final between Army and Java Lane. 

The Sri Lankan football community, clubs and coaches attest to his commitment to the game, saying he controlled all 90 minutes of action out in the field with true professionalism. Rajkrishna now embarks on a new journey in football as a match commissioner or referee assessor, continuing his contribution to the game he loves.