In squash,its all about explanation

Englishman John Massarvella rarely regrets putting himself in a job that tests his patience,but the squash referee...

Englishman John Massarvella rarely regrets putting himself in a job that tests his patience,but the squash referee,officiating in one of the few sports that obligate the judges to explain their calls,says you make peace with a few things,even when the players like a little conversation with the referee.

Refs know theres always a retort round the corner when they are treading the thin line between a Let and a Stroke. Sometimes players continue to argue. With players like Jonathan Power and Anthony Ricketts,arguments can continue well after the match, says Massarvella.

Of the current crop,Egyptian Wael el Hindi takes his banters seriously,but squash has found a new brat in Italian Davide Bianchetti. Says French referee Barbeau,who has been officiating for 15 years: He always argues,whether hes winning or losing. He likes to talk. Here he didnt say much and played just one match and lost. But then he threw the racket on the floor and was given a conduct stroke. After which,the fiery Italian went on to break the racket on his knee. He can get unnecessarily talkative,but hes a nice bloke off the court.

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In Mumbai,the French-English battles have been the most intense,and Egyptian title contender Ramy Ashour stepped out of the court during his marathon battle with David Palmer to make the appeal I swear to god that ball was good.

But squash also has its quiet champions. Amr Shabana never indulges in chattering,neither does Saurav Ghosal. I refereed him in the Bordeaux final against Bianchetti,who argued throughout the match. Ghosal stayed quiet and won, Barbeau says.

The funniest instance he can recall,though,is when after a match,a player rushed out towards the referee. Everyone had their hearts in their mouths for a moment. Then he suddenly stopped and shook the referees hand and said Good decision. I guess even the players know, he says.