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The NRL and indeed rugby league has a massive problem: the disrespect shown by players, fans and supporters for the people who referee all levels of the game.
The case of Cronulla Sharks front rower Andrew Fifita was finally resolved on Thursday afternoon, as he was handed down a six-week suspension by the NRL, along with a $30,000 fine for verbally assaulting a junior rugby league referee.
While this may seem harsh, particularly with the NRL finals series just around the corner and the Cronulla Sharks a genuine chance of making it, the punishment is not even close to enough.
Anyone in any other job may have got a slap on the wrist, but because he is a professional NRL player he is obviously expected to know better. But if an NRL player is running onto the field and verbally abusing a referee, what is to stop the average parent from doing it? They have no NRL to answer to and no public backlash to face.
Fifita’s fine and suspension shows that the NRL has a major problem in its culture and treatment of referees. Every time you go to a game you see people yelling abuse at the referees from the grandstand. Or how about reading a match report? “This was influenced by the referee and so was that,” the report will tell you.
Even on field, we constantly have captains arguing with the referees about this call, that penalty, and more often than not showing less than a suitable level of respect.
A six-week suspension shows that the NRL are not serious about protecting their officials. Fans, media, players and organising bodies alike should all be reminded here that without the referees there is no game. It is that simple.
The line has to be drawn somewhere and what Andrew Fifita did to a referee, let alone one refereeing juniors, is just not acceptable. But the NRL have failed to send a message to let players, fans and the media know that it is not on and will not be tolerated.
How many players who might have just finished playing juniors themselves or have decided they don’t want to actually play the game anymore are going to be rushing out to become a referee after this incident? Not many, particularly when you look at the length of the suspension.
The rugby league community is too quick to criticise referees and blame them, and this incident highlights the culture problem the NRL has on its hands.
Something has to be done in the short term to fix this problem, or it is going to spiral out of control.