Mr Fernando chief match referee in conversation with ThePapare.com opens up about the most heated incidents relating to refereeing in the recent rugby season and discusses the referee status in general.
Many of the decisions made by referees in the recent past were very controversial; some got out of hand: threats, verbal humiliation and even assaults. According Fernando there are so many factors affecting the poor refereeing; while the lack of professional experience and the pitfalls of the referees are a couple there are many more slipups within the current rugby system. “Today more money is involved in Rugby, ranging from the school level to international. Everybody has an urgency to win, because losing a match means more than just losing a game, it can be losing everything you depend on: your job, your career. At this point they will do anything to push away the blame on to someone else. Unfortunately most times the referees”
On the other hand, some are involved in refereeing for the sole purpose of making money. The referee union has the cut down the total number of referees by almost a third– from 150 to 58 – soon after the turmoil related to the School’s league. The new team consists of experienced referees .”They have a passion for the sport”. The standards of the referees also relate to the problem. “Everyone makes mistakes but if you do something wrong intentionally that cannot be excused. With experienced people we are expecting to reduce such bad doings” comments Mr. Fernando from personal experience as a referee.
The union has made it clear of their preference- non-coaching individuals- to sign up for refereeing. Further, for the referees who are already coaching will only be permitted to referee B division if they are coaching A division and this applies vice versa for the B division coaches. Parallel to this factor periodical evaluations are scheduled. Though the evaluating criterion has changed over time the assessment serves for a common interest: check whether the individuals are fit for refereeing. “When I was coaching the main assessing measure was the physical fitness. Now it has changed to theoretical knowledge but I still feel that physical assessment is very important because a referee needs to run along with the movements of the ball. I would recommend one to have a 45 minute preparation before the game”, states Fernando. He further mentions that the referee’s union has taken steps to initiate training which might take place in the coming months.
Today coaching is an established profession which adds more pressure to all the participants. “Now there is a new trend where the coaches scream at the referees and their supporters follow the lead; the fans get out of control. In many of the incidents where the referees were threatened and attacked by the spectators the initiation was taken by the officials themselves.” Crowd controlling is very important for an uninterrupted rugby game; this also helps the referees to concentrate on the game. Knowing the repercussions, the referee union has notified schools, yet in many instances schools could not control the crowd. The ground control-men were unable to handle the tension which led to arguments and eventually to the beatings of referees. The Sports Ministry has implemented strict measures: to prevent viewers under the influence of liquor entering the games and to give referees the authority to stop the game in any instance where they are threatened by the spectators.
Many games were peaceful afterwards; yet at some instances referees should solely be blamed for the misunderstandings. “Referees have management issues. If a player commits a mistake he should be advised before being penalized with a yellow card, or even a red card.” Getting things out of control, giving away penalties are signs of misconduct; prior warnings are proof.
Among the heated incidents in the school rugby season, ‘the Royal -Isipathana struggle’ gained a lot of attention.” The miscommunication between the referee and the lines men caused lot of controversy to the issue “Orville notes. He adds, further investigations have revealed that the referee was under pressure due to some compelling threats made over the phone to the referee before the match. “This is a common occurrence and many have reported similar cases, but it is difficult to attend to all these threats”
The referee union is seeking for international help for the upcoming rugby season: a long over-due plan which will eventually raise the standards of local refereeing to that of the international. The IRB refereeing seminars, which took place a couple of months back, were immensely supportive. The referee union has already taken steps to work along with clubs to get the rugby players to refereeing; every club should provide at least one player as a referee in the upcoming season. “It’s very easy for the rugby players to referee, because within the first few minutes they know the game plans of both the teams. Then they know where to move and look for- predict the movements of the ball”
In the long term the union is also looking forward to initiate a referee exchange program, in which the referees will be able to tour in Asia and around the world. This will also allow the international referees to work in Sri Lanka.
All in all we can be optimistic about the upcoming rugby season. True, it’s a cumulative effort of the schools, clubs, the referee union and sponsors, but as yet everything is shaping up towards the right direction.
ThePapare.com thanks Mr Fernando for his time and candid disclosure of matters.
