A National Past-time

Just a few weeks in and the 2009 season of referee bashing is well and truly underway. This is arguably as big a national pursuit as the actual game itself and no code is spared.

The AFL have had their ‘rushed behind’ ruling in the spotlight recently. Leading umpire Brett Rosebury has been heavily criticised over an error made in the heat of battle in, of all things, a trial match.

Rugby League has now introduced two on-field referees to be backed up by the video referee but that hasn’t helped them avoid their own controversy, with a knock-on that led to a try being missed by all the officials.

In Super 14 rugby there has been an ‘uproar’ over the new merit-based system, which has seen neutrality removed from matches between the SANZAR provinces. There has also been continued confusion over the Experimental Law Variations and recently leading Australian referee Matt Goddard was stood down following criticism of his handling of the Hurricanes vs Bulls match. This  despite being praised for his handling of earlier matches in the tournament.

When you’re the referee, everyone’s got an opinion

In most people’s day to day work their performance is assessed by their peers, their direct boss and the management of the company they work for. Anything further is usually limited to water-cooler discussions with colleagues.

But the performance of sport’s officials is under far more public scrutiny and the men and women in the middle often find themselves subject to judgment, not just from their employer but from all sides: the media, fans, sponsors, players and coaches are all more than happy to share their opinions  and a leading official’s future can often be in the hands of a group of people with little or no accountability, and, I have to say, often little understanding of the laws too.

In the international spotlight

This has been seen over the years in Super 14 where patriotism has resulted in referees from opposition countries being hung out to dry. A well credentialed Australian referee has recently been asked not to return to South Africa and New Zealand based on a personal bias from rugby officialdom in those countries.

The spread of blogs has put further pressure on officials as their performances are now critiqued round the clock and for a global audience to see where slanderous comments by faceless individuals are often made. The public will not tolerate mistakes from match officials, despite the fact that they arguably make less errors than many of the ‘star’ players on the field.

So why do we put ourselves through it? It’s unlikely to be for financial reasons.

It’s a question we ask ourselves a bit. And the answer is because we love it.