English Premier League referee Philip Dowd has praised Indian referees, saying the home-based officials have been more receptive to the training methods and have shown hunger to improve their skill sets.
Dowd was speaking at the conclusion of a three-day second annual Indian Super League referee workshop.
"The officials have been more receptive to our training methods since last year and have shown a hunger to improve their skill sets and enhance their performance," Dowd said on Thursday.
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A total of 30 All India Football Federation match officials -- 15 referees and 15 assistant referees -- were trained at the workshop that focused on enhancing knowledge, application and interpretation of the laws of the game with effective teamwork and communication amongst the officials.
The workshop was conducted by Professional Game Match Officials Limited's (PGMOL) training and development manager Ray Olivier and English Premier League's select referee Philip Dowd.
Dowd said they tried to inculcate the core values of refereeing among the AIFF officials.
"The partnership between the ISL and the AIFF has developed into a very professional and collaborative relationship putting referee development at the heart of their priorities," Olivier said.
"We have seen a significant increase in the match officials' knowledge and experience which is clearly demonstrated through their higher level of interaction during the practical and theory teaching sessions," he said.
The workshop included sessions on topics such as conflict resolution (managing the technical area), crucial decision making (in and around the penalty area), optimising communication (between referee and assistant referee) and referee assessment methods, which are popularly used by PGMOL.
