How truly pathetic must someone be to threaten the life of another person because of a refereeing decision?
There is no justification for such a spineless act. None at all. Yet it happens.
On Thursday night, the Sydney Morning Herald’s Andrew Webster revealed Matt Cecchin is retiring from the NRL at the end of the year. The causes? Death threats so serious the police got involved in New Zealand and Australia, and the endless criticism of referees in 2018.
It’s plain sad that the finest whistleblower in the NRL has been forced from the competition. And it’s an indictment on rugby league as a whole.
It was only on Monday that there were two columns on this very website coming out in support of our referees, one penned by Ryan O’Connell, the other by Mary Konstantopoulos. But the news around Cecchin has brought the issue back into focus – not that talking about referees has ever really been out of vogue this year.
Twitter has always been awash with criticism of the decisions made on the field, but this season has seen that whinging and moaning spread about by some of the game’s highest-profile commentators as well. What was once the domain of the disgruntled fan for an hour or two after a game became bread and butter stuff for Friday night monologues and Monday morning columns.
It’s hardly a great shock, then, that a high-profile referee has decided to call it quits.
Matt Cecchin is a big loss for the NRL. (Photo by Mark Evans/Getty Images)
What we shouldn’t do, though, is mistake this for an issue caused solely by a few well-known media antagonists; our problem with referees extends far beyond the realms of professional sport.
Head down to your local ground this weekend and you’ll find a handful of uniformed men and women (and boys and girls), whistle in hand. They might be volunteers, they might not be – either way, they certainly won’t be getting paid much, yet they’re as important to their sport of choice as anyone else there.
I guarantee you the vast majority of those referees have been subjected to some vile abuse for a decision they’ve made at one time or another, whether by a player standing on the field, a coach sitting on the bench, or a parent standing on the sideline. Those who haven’t been on the receiving end of such rubbish yet probably will be in the future.
It’s a situation I’m familiar with. Instead of flipping burgers at Maccas, I ran around as a football referee to earn some extra pocket change while I was at high school.
Refereeing is a thankless gig. The stress that comes with making critical decisions is one thing, but the seemingly endless stream of dissent and accompanying insults is far worse. God knows what it’s like at a professional level. Unenviable, I would think.
Not every parent, player and coach is like that, of course. Plenty aren’t. But there are enough around who think having a crack at the ref is fair game – and many more who let such behaviour slide without any objection.
With that kind of culture at our local grounds, is it any surprise that there are people out there who think it’s fine to send sickening abuse the way of professional referees? And, to look at the flipside of that coin, why wouldn’t those on the sidelines every weekend think it’s okay to endlessly criticise the ref when that’s what some high-profile commentators and coaches do?
Dealing with referees: exactly how not to do it. (Photo by Mark Nolan/Getty Images)
This isn’t to say you should never, ever, under any circumstances whatsoever, complain about refereeing decisions. Sport is a passionate business and sometimes that emotion is going to be directed at the game’s adjudicators.
Nor must referees to be free from critique and consequence. Just like anyone else in professional sport, we should expect the best from them.
Currently, though, there’s one set of standards for professional referees and another for players.
We’ll forgive players for a knock-on, let the odd penalty slide, and look past a missed tackle or two. But god help the poor referee who backs him or herself and makes a tough decision, or misses a forward pass, or calls a strip that wasn’t, or, well, does just about anything that isn’t absolutely perfect.
Hell, in Cecchin’s case, getting the decision right didn’t matter to the pea-brained idiots who decided to threaten his life.
It’s been said ad nauseam, but I’ll add one more voice to the chorus: much as we’d like them to be blessed with unerring, robotic accuracy (and most of them are pretty damn good anyway) referees are human.
They deserve to be treated as such, to be forgiven for the errors they will make here and there, whether that’s in the last second of a World Cup semi-final or on a patchy old paddock on a Saturday arvo.
So, when your team loses next, don’t blame the referees because your mob wasn’t good enough to get the job done. They probably made more mistakes than the men in the middle anyway.
And when you go down to watch your kid play this morning, or lace the boots up yourself this weekend, cut the refs some slack. Say thanks. Shake their hands, stop to have a chat with them. Your sport will be better for it.
Boydy-in-Brisbane
Roar Rookie
As I also remarked on Mary's article Daniel, threats of violence are never acceptable, however, commenting on their performance is part-and-parcel of the game. If club CEO's & coaches don't do their job, they get the sack. Players play poorly, they get dropped. Simple stuff really so why is it that full-time professional referees are above reproach? When I worked as a contracts officer in the federal government, one of the first things I was taught is that it merely not good enough to do the right thing, you need to be SEEN doing the right thing. When referees go out week in, week out and miss obvious forward passes, blow dubious penalties for one team and completely overlook infringements against the opposition, you really have to ask yourself, what's going on. When the referees' boss appoints his two brothers to the same game, it's not a good look, no matter how innocent it may be. The losing side and its fans will feel hard done by. When one team has never lost under a particular ref, opposition fans start shaking their heads before the game even starts. Why have these and many other things been allowed to happen? Who's in charge when it comes to ensuring the probity of our match officials? Yes, I will happily shake the hand of the ref at my son footy on the weekend, he or she's doing it because they love the game and want the kids to have fun. NRL refs, on the other hand, are highly paid professionals who shouldn't be above criticism and scrutiny for poor performances.
Rellum
Roar Guru
The entire point of removing scoring and results from kids sport is so they can just play and enjoy it and remove all the pressure to win put on them by coaches and parents. This is not a fanciful picture, and is clearly endemic of junior sport across all codes to the point where sports like football had to change things. You might have a good experience but many kids, parents and refs do not. I will leave the insults to you.
Major Bumsore
Guest
You haven’t challenged my opinion... You’ve just gone off and painted some fanciful picture of every coach behaving like a tyrant in their single minded almost madman like desire to win. You may have been on the wrong end of such an approach at some time , but in the pre “everyone is equal and we can’t possibly have winners” days , I can honestly say I rarely witnessed such a thing . You may need to seek some form of counseling to address your issues.
Tom
Guest
Agreed 100% on the union approach to referee - player interactions. Aside from reporting foul play (e.g. eye gouging), I really don't see why the players, including captains, are entitled to say anything to the referee beyond 'yes, sir' and 'no, sir'. I've never seen a referee reverse his decision as a result, so it can only be seen as a tactic to slow the game down. Go back to the referee referring to players by number, and penalising and marching players an extra 10 if they speak to the referee before being spoken to. I don't think any fan appreciates Cam Smith questioning the refs, no matter how politely and respectfully he does it - so why not just cut it out of the game?
Rellum
Roar Guru
People who can't articulate their argument resort to insults. Say loads about them as a person. Major here cannot stand someone challenging their opinion.
Justin Kearney
Roar Rookie
Daniel don’t waste your time with Jacko. It’s like arguing with a block of cement.
Forty Twenty
Guest
There is optimism , pessimism and realism. 'All it will do is delay the game further and cause more frustration' That's pure pessimism. In some cases it won't make a lick of difference but in many it will make a massive difference. The Captain and thru him the coach and fans will have a voice which can't be ignored as it is now. Fairly often there is a wrong call and everyone can see it but the captain has no power to get it overturned. That is the major frustration.
Major Bumsore
Guest
The refs quite often also have the opportunity to review their decision ( about 20 times in some cases ) and still get it wrong . I’m sure if the players had half a dozen kicks at goal , they’re gunna get one to go over . People , well most people will accept a percentage of mistakes, but when you have all this technology and they still pull out a stinker , that’s when someone ( Greenberg you clown ) has to stand up and accept responsibility.
Major Bumsore
Guest
Oh , there we go , another one.
Matt P
Roar Rookie
I do love it when people comment on online forums and tell other people their opinions are stupid and don't matter. Pot, meet conceited kettle.
Major Bumsore
Guest
The pair of you have gone a long way towards confirming everything I’ve said . Brainless people who think their opinions mean something.
Adam
Roar Guru
You do realise that the police are allowed to use their phone while driving if it is for policing matters. Look it up
Rellum
Roar Guru
The Captain’s Challenge will mean less Video Ref calls. That alone is a win for me, more playing time, less replays.
Matt P
Roar Rookie
The crux of your argument, KM, is comparing people making unintentional mistakes to people deliberately ignoring rules. You don't have a point here, unless you're suggesting that refs are intentionally getting calls wrong. Players are there to hold on to the ball, tackle, and score points. We don't ridicule and blast players for every mistake they make. No difference between that and what people think is acceptable to direct towards refs.
Karma Miranda
Guest
I just love how youve gone off om your own tangent that suits your point of view, while ignoring the cruz of my argument... that one is supposed to know and act in a more thorough manner than the other. But nice try... if you truly can't see it you never will.
Karma Miranda
Guest
Captain's Challenge won't make a lick of difference in instances like the Billy Slater knock-on / grubber kick vs the Broncos, where it went upstairs and the ludicrous fair try decision came back down. Giving Captains a call means nothing if you can't make a correct decision according to the laws of the game. All it will do is delay the game further, and cause more frustration.
Rob
Guest
Agree with the poor culture and it being particularly bad in Rugby League. The problems around rule interpretations are at the core of many arguments. The game lurches from being over policed to under policed and then inconsistency comes to the fore with whistle blowers try to game manage the contest. The other bad culture is that of coaches and players always looking for an advantage. There are rules that are constantly being flaunted like moving of the mark, not playing the ball with the foot, splitting at marker, slowing down the ruck by gang tackling , not getting to your feet before placing the ball, passing the ball forward and blocking kick chasers. Coaches need to get back to playing the game in the right spirit and putting the game first by teaching ball skills and good clean defensive techniques. At the moment this game is killing itself by those involved not showing enough respect to the rules of the game.
Daniel Jeffrey
Editor
It seems an awful lot like you're saying referees shouldn't be offside or knock the ball or break any of the laws they're paid to enforce. You know, if you're comparing referees making a mistake to a policeman driving while using his phone. Think you can be pretty sure Matt Cecchin hasn't thrown too many forward passes as a ref. Referees do have a better knowledge of the laws than players. That doesn't mean they're going to get every call 100% correct. They're human. They try their best, but they'll make mistakes. But if you just think they should be perfect all the time, so be it. All the logic in the world won't change your mind. Maybe have a crack at refereeing a game yourself, though. It'd give you a better perspective of what a tough job the pros have.
Karma Miranda
Guest
Because Daniel, one is there to oversee the other. One is there to uphold the rules. The implication is that one should have a better knowledge than the other, because their only reason to be on the field is to hold the other to account. I drive the streets of Brisbane all day, and constantly see people parked illegally and breaking the law. But the worst of it is when you see a Parking Inspector on a yellow line or a Cop in their car on their phone... if only because they're meant to conduct themselves to a higher standard than those they officiate over.
Roger
Guest
Disagree there Rellum, the commentators and their complaining about referees was fed by the video replay back when there weren't video refs and added delays. The commentators (thinking Gould and Warren here - although Johns is a fast learner) can hold their bile for many an hour before spewing it out for the easily deceived to lap it up. If the video ref is to go so do the endless replays.