Tanmoy Dhar is one of the Bengal and India's prominent referees. One of the country's national elite referees was on the panel of ISL referees from 2014 to 2018 and he also has experience officiating matches regularly in the I-League for the last 12 years. Tanmoy has also officiated 22 international matches. 

But Tanmoy who was a football player in earlier days started thinking of switching over to coaching for some time and the 38-year-old referee became the first from Bengal to have acquired an AFC C-license diploma coaching degree on 11th April. The course was organised at Guwahati from 1st to 11th April. It was conducted by the All India Football Federation (AIFF). The instructor was C. Rabi Shankar Singh. 

Tanmoy said, “I am already 38 years old. Forty-five is the eligibility for referring. So it was natural for me to think of an alternative. Besides, in earlier days I was a serious footballer.”

He continued, "I learned the basics of the game at Sports Authority of India (SAI) Kolkata. Then I played for teams like Beleghata AC, Sporting Union, Taltala Dipti Sangha, and Howrah Union. I represented Nadia district in the state school games in the under-14, under-17, and under-19 age groups. So I was originally a footballer before being a referee.” 

Tanmoy who will be completing B and A-license coaching courses in due course has plans also to earn a coaching certificate from the National Institute of Sports (NIS) to strengthen his experience. 

Dhar is likely to start his coaching journey soon at Kalyani Football Academy (KFA), working with the young footballers. Tanmoy commented, "It will be a perfect start for me working at the grass-route level."