Immigration halts departure of two national referees bound for AFC course in Malaysia

The immigration authorities have stopped two national football referees at Lahore’s Allama Iqbal International Airport from travelling to Malaysia for an official training course organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), 24NewsHD TV reported on Wednesday. 

According to sources, Pakistan Football Federation (PFF)'s referees Azam Ali and Umar Shams were scheduled to attend the AFC Referee Course in Malaysia.

However, immigration officials barred them from departure after discovering that they did not possess the required no objection certificate (NOC) from the Pakistan Sports Board (PSB).

The PSB had earlier issued a directive to the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) instructing that no athlete or sports official be allowed to travel abroad for sports-related events without its formal NOC.

As a result, both referees—who had been nominated by the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) to represent the country at the AFC program—were stopped at the airport and could not proceed with their journey.