Players told to respect referees as abuse soars

[Ciaran Trainor]

Players told to respect referees as abuse soars
http://digitaleditions.telegraph.co...0/package/806/pub/806/page/124/article/247214

What do people think about this?
I had a couple of games last month that made me question why I'm reffing at all and had a few weeks off to recharge my batteries.
I'm not convinced it's because of what players see at the top level, many don't watch on TV anymore as it effectively is pay per view.

 

[dave_clark]

something i've been thinking recently along these lines.

as you may remember, my first appointment a few weeks ago was for a level 9 game. had i accepted the appointment, i have no doubt that it would have been a disaster. neither my fitness level nor my decision making would have been up to the required standard, which would likely have led to the players getting frustrated. and when people get frustrated they say and do things they wouldn't normally do, so i could easily have been part of this story.

despite not having refereed since my first game a few weeks ago, i do keep an eye on the appointments for the region (mainly because i'm nosey and like to see what's going on). and what i've seen is that the higher level games are almost all covered and the lower level games are the ones that don't get society refs. i wonder if this is a contributory factor in the increasing levels of abuse, referees being appointed to games above their ability and not being up to it. i think it's unlikely that the shortage of referees are all at level 11 or lower, with level 10 and higher having the same number as before (unless refs are being over-promoted because of the shortages at these levels, which is a related but different problem).

for the avoidance of doubt, i'm absolutely not blaming the referees for the abuse they receive. and if i knew what the answer was i'd offer it...

 

[Flish]

Players told to respect referees as abuse soars
http://digitaleditions.telegraph.co...0/package/806/pub/806/page/124/article/247214

What do people think about this?
I had a couple of games last month that made me question why I'm reffing at all and had a few weeks off to recharge my batteries.
I'm not convinced it's because of what players see at the top level, many don't watch on TV anymore as it effectively is pay per view.

I wonder if they’ve been told to take a hard line on back chat in the prem to set standards at the top - See
Luke Pearce vs Billy V today!

 

[SimonSmith]

I told a captain yesterday evening that if his coach said one more word, two things were going to happen - I'd file a Code of Conduct charge, and I'd get in my car. The second half was blissfully quiet.

There are 4 teams in town, and two referees, one of whom has been on nights the last three rounds, so it's not like there's a lot of variety around here. The standard of rugby is OK, but everything else is starting to drag. I've done two matches of 11 v 11 (80 minutes) and have yet to have a contested scrum.

That reduces my satisfaction with what I'm doing, which means my BS tolerance - never high in the first place - is a lot lower than normal. I can't see it getting to a place where I walk away, injuries notwithstanding, but we're getting close to the point where I could end up boycotting at least one team. In some ways I have it easy. 7 minute drive to the field, $50 a game, free beer, water, etc.

But if you're not enjoying the rugby, what's the point?

 

[crossref]

https://twitter.com/SuperSportTV/status/1466824398166544387?t=K_Ypt05BcqYJ9foK8VRM7g&s=19

 

[Zebra1922]

something i've been thinking recently along these lines.

as you may remember, my first appointment a few weeks ago was for a level 9 game. had i accepted the appointment, i have no doubt that it would have been a disaster. neither my fitness level nor my decision making would have been up to the required standard, which would likely have led to the players getting frustrated. and when people get frustrated they say and do things they wouldn't normally do, so i could easily have been part of this story.

despite not having refereed since my first game a few weeks ago, i do keep an eye on the appointments for the region (mainly because i'm nosey and like to see what's going on). and what i've seen is that the higher level games are almost all covered and the lower level games are the ones that don't get society refs. i wonder if this is a contributory factor in the increasing levels of abuse, referees being appointed to games above their ability and not being up to it. i think it's unlikely that the shortage of referees are all at level 11 or lower, with level 10 and higher having the same number as before (unless refs are being over-promoted because of the shortages at these levels, which is a related but different problem).

for the avoidance of doubt, i'm absolutely not blaming the referees for the abuse they receive. and if i knew what the answer was i'd offer it...

I can understand a referee who may not be suitably skilled for the level of play could cause frustration, but players must always take responsibility for their own discipline. There is no excuse for attacking or abusing the referee regardless of the quality (or not) of their refereeing.

 

[dave_clark]

on your final sentence, i agree 100%. i'm not trying to victim blame here.

as referees, one of our biggest aims is to diffuse flashpoints before or as they arise so they don't cause major problems. to me someone not being suitable for the quality of the game is a potential flashpoint and, while the referee may not be able to mitigate this himself (or herself), the appointments team might be able to. that's the point i'm trying to make here.

it could be of course that nobody else recognises the scenario i'm posing, i accept that my sample size is very small :smile:

 

[Dickie E]

Dave, I think you make a good point.

To some degree we have addressed the issue by dressing fledgling referees in green shirts so that everyone knows that they are learners.

But higher up the ranks there is no way players or spectators would be aware of referee experience or competence.

You guys have quite a structured referee ranking system (level 11, 10, etc). Maybe we need some kind of visual indicators like the military's use of chevrons to show rank.

 

[colesy]

Maybe we need some kind of visual indicators like the military's use of chevrons to show rank.

I would caution against this. In my old society we used to publish our grading list. Caused problems with clubs when, for example, a level 7 ref was appointed to a level 6 match. “Why are we getting a level 7 ref when we’re at level 6? We deserve a level 6 ref.” and so on. The list is society only now.

 

[Dickie E]

I would caution against this. In my old society we used to publish our grading list. Caused problems with clubs when, for example, a level 7 ref was appointed to a level 6 match. “Why are we getting a level 7 ref when we’re at level 6? We deserve a level 6 ref.” and so on. The list is society only now.

yeah, fair enough but now they think they're getting a level 6 ref until they see differently on the pitch.

 

[crossref]

yeah, fair enough but now they think they're getting a level 6 ref until they see differently on the pitch.

So yes, why not make the grade of the ref public. I wouldn't mind that

 

[SimonSmith]

I don't know if things have changed much, but I used to go out on exchange at a higher level than I would normally do in Hampshire.

Exchanges, when you're pushing for promotion, can be tricky enough to handle. Throw in a match garde/referee grade mismatch, and that's a degree of extra pressure I wouldn't have wanted to have added.

 

[Dave Elliott]

I would caution against this. In my old society we used to publish our grading list. Caused problems with clubs when, for example, a level 7 ref was appointed to a level 6 match. “Why are we getting a level 7 ref when we’re at level 6? We deserve a level 6 ref.” and so on. The list is society only now.

I can understand that completely, but in the current climate I think a club would be happy to get A ref, as so many games are not going ahead due to the lack of a ref at all ( in England at least )