The competition’s best referee has had enough... so what do we do about it?

Friday was an embarrassing day to be a rugby league fan.

Instead of focussing on the top-of-the-table clash between the Rabbitohs and Storm, we were confronted with the shocking reality of our own incessant whining.

One of the league’s genuine good guys, Matt Cecchin, had made the decision to retire from officiating.

It’s no surprise when you read the abuse that he and his family suffered – thousands of vile messages of hatred and even death threats were made, to the extent that New Zealand Police contacted Cecchin, who was unaware of the magnitude of the abuse.

And this was directed towards a decision the 44-year-old made that was correct.

He backed himself, deciding to disallow Tongan prop Andrew Fifita a late try against England, without the use of the much-maligned Bunker.

Yep – he copped criticism for making the call himself.

It perfectly captures the unfortunately reality that no matter what the referees do, we can’t be pleased.

Send it up for a video review and a chorus of armchair experts question why referees can’t just be confident and rule in the moment.

Cecchin did just that and yet out came another band of critics, condemning him for doing exactly what so many had asked of him.

Andrew Fifita scored a possible try for Tonga in last year’s World Cup, only for referee Matt Cecchin to correctly rule a knock-on. (Photo by Anthony Au-Yeung/Getty Images)

It’s no wonder that people are now claiming the officials have no confidence – they have no idea how to live up to the unrealistic expectations placed upon them.

I’m not writing this article to tell you how terrible it was to read Cecchin’s story on Friday morning. That would be a waste of time.

I don’t think I know anyone out there who wouldn’t feel the same way.

What I am here to do is to offer solutions. Ways to celebrate the role referees play in our sport and challenge the ignorance.

Commentators
The toxic culture of referee-bashing starts from the top and we simply can’t be giving high-profile commentators the platform to condone this type of behaviour.

Muting the coverage isn’t really an option given that the commentary, when done right, adds to the quality of our product.

Unfortunately, we can’t physically gag certain individuals. However, what we can do is diversify the commentating team.

This year we’ve seen several current players have a crack in the commentary box. Likewise, we’ve (regrettably) seen the introduction of Bellamy’s Bunker to the Fox League coverage.

Having existing players is invaluable as it provides viewers with a rare insight into the game from those who understand it in its most up-to-date form.

In a similar vein, if they were willing to do so, having one referee joining the coverage during every match would go a long way to altering the way commentators call the game.

Rather than having a barrage of refereeing criticism by the likes of Phil Gould and Andrew Johns dominating the call, the officials themselves can educate not only the commentators but the viewers too, who are quick to latch onto any excuse to justify their own side’s poor form.

Channel 9 commentator Andrew Johns has been a vocal critic of this year’s referees. (Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)

If a decision is made that the commentary team disagree with, the referee in the box can provide much-needed clarity and silence any ill-informed views.

The Channel Nine experts should stick to the game-play. They are usually great at it. In fact, AJ Mithen touched on the strength of their in-depth strategic analysis in his latest article.

Their commentary on officiating, however, is fingernails on a chalkboard.

Even if an error was made by a referee (yes, humans do actually make mistakes), they can offer some level of understanding that is not currently being considered.

In his interview with the Sydney Morning Herald’s Andrew Webster, Cecchin himself expressed how difficult the officials have it.

“The game is so technical now,” he said.

“When I first started, you had a knock-on, a forward pass, a slow tackle or a high tackle.

“Now you’ve got ‘dominants’ and ‘surrenders’ and ‘spinning’ and ‘peeling’ and ‘grappling’ and ‘upright tackles’.

“It’s terribly complicated.”

And like players, referees have to do all of this under immense pressure. I’m sure all of the officials have a similar opinion to Cecchin. They just don’t have the platform to make it known.

Inviting referees to join the commentary would ensure that this reality is made clearer to a wider audience.

In a perfect world, this wouldn’t even need to happen. Unfortunately, in the current climate of our game, this change is necessary.

Recognition
I for one would certainly love to see both Channel Nine and Fox League’s commentary teams undertake a week’s worth of referee training.

If they get through it, they’d have a much better understanding of what our whistleblowers go through just to be prepared to be at their best.

If they don’t, then who gives them the right to speak as if they could do any better.

Former Fox Sports journalist Nathan Ryan tried to give it a go and failed.

Matt Cecchin is the best official in the game. (Photo by Mark Evans/Getty Images)

Just to give you an idea, one task involved a circuit of shoulder presses, bent over rows and push-ups. Doesn’t sound too bad, right?

Well, in addition to that, the officials also had to memorise scores thrown at them and players being put on report. Then, there was a grid of numbers mixed from one to 100 where they needed to highlight everything in order.

The exercise mixed both the physical and mental strain that refereeing just a couple of minutes of first-grade footy can throw at you.

This example alone proves that the whistleblowers are just as dedicated as players to being at their peak fitness and are deserving of praise.

Internal commendations, however, won’t achieve all too much in reversing the current attitude towards match-day officials.

Rather, what is missing is a public tribute to the work they do.

Something as simple as awarding a Dally M award for Referee of the Year at the end of the season would be welcome recognition.

Equally important is the role of the media. We need more journalists like Nathan Ryan, who are willing to put themselves out there in an attempt to better understand the pressures that officials face on a daily basis.

We need stories about the hurdles these men and women have overcome to make it to where they are now. We see it with players and have a greater appreciation for them because of it.

Changing our attitude towards referees won’t happen overnight. But we can’t simply admit we have a problem and move on.

Something needs to be done to promote the sacrifices that our officials make to ensure our game is the best it can be.

It all starts with giving them a platform to educate us and change our current mindset.

Otherwise, we may have a future where players are officiating their own games.