Former number one football referee, Malla Lhathuhthu passes away

Malla Lhathuhthu, a local football referee renown for being the best in the national field and claiming the country's first-ever FIFA referee badge has passed away.

He died this afternoon while receiving treatment in the intensive care unit of a hospital in Trivandrum, India.

Malla, who performed as a referee of exceptional standards between 1969 and 1995 had acted as a referee under his FIFA badge from 1990 to 1993.

One his most notable matches was the country's first national tournament held outside of Male' in Hithadhoo, Addu City in 1970. He later judged numerous national tournaments and atoll tournaments. Additionally, Malla also refereed over the Asian Club Championships, SAFF Games as well as in Sri Lanka's First Division games.

He also served as a trainer for several now established referees. Ali Saleem, Ahmed Abeer Ismail and Ahmed Ameez are included among the referees coached by him.

The country had also bestowed an honorary award to Malla in the year 2021 in recognition of his invaluable service to the country's sports industry.

Ibrahim Ismail, who served as a referee alongside Malla describes Malla as a strong pillar of the country's sports scene.

"Malla's death is a huge loss to the country's sports scene. He is Maldives' first FIFA referee. That is an honor he will forever hold," said the former Chairperson of the Maldives Olympic Committee, Ismail.

Malla, who first entered to service the nation through MNDF had also worked at STO for a long time. In 2022, the government also presented the National Award for Public Service to the referee for his long-standing service of 43 years to the State.

Among his children, Ibrahim Firaz Moosa (Kudamalla) is a talented defender who played for New Radiant Sports Club, Club Victory and Club Valencia. Meanwhile, Aminath Shahurunaz is an exceptional badminton athlete who represented Maldives at an international scene.

Originally starting out as a football player, Malla had performed for the Male' Tennis Club and the Moon Club.

Malla is also a talented designer who tailored the country's very first referee badge. Following the inception of Football Association of Maldives (FAM) in 1982, Malla had also designed the agency's logo.

His accolades further include having run the Referees Association of Maldives for a long period of time, in addition to heading administrative governance of FAM. Moreover, Malla also served as the advisor to the Chairperson of FAM.