Photo: courtesy
Throughout
my short career of being a rugby referee, I have seen
many referees gradually walking away from the game at all stages.
Many will be
wondering the reason as this is so.Unfortunately; referees are undergoing
physical threats and psychological strains.
Major
concerns involve the young referees who are already struggling to make a name
on the crowded field sport.
When such
young sports officials are throwing in their whistles at record rates, where do
we expect to get competent referees for the next decades?
The next
time you decide to watch a game, here are a few things to bear in mind….
We never
pick a match to ref but instead we are appointed. Therefore it is our duty to
ref the game with the skills that we have acquired.
Another
thing to remember is that the referee there could be somebody’s daughter or son,
mother or father. So when you throw those insulting words at them remember that
you are embarrassing them in front of their loved one. This is devastating to them.
Some need to
juggle between their full time jobs or schooling. As referees, we don’t
showcase our feelings or emotions but rather put in our best to deliver the
best for the game. Other times we sacrifice our vacation time just to be there.
And just
like the players, the referees also make mistakes .In our case we have at most
two people to support us and not 23 and again we have a split of a second to
make a decision. Sometimes your match may be our second or third for the day.
Referees
are devoted to rugby just as you. We don’t always have a group to train with,
so we have to keep our fitness levels single-handedly. Referees may not always
be the finest, but sometimes we are the only ones. So when you throw your
insults keep this in mind.
Things
don’t normally work out as planned and sometimes finds the referee to make his arrangements
on how to get at the venue of the game. This means an additional cost to them.
So the next time you go for a match, try to identify with the referee and ask
yourself what if that was you?
And
if you think you can outshine us, why don’t you pick the whistle?
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