The Match Official (Referee)

Should he have gone
to Specsavers?

In any sport, the referee has a largely thankless task. If the players behave, you won't even notice them. If the players break the rules, then the official has to get involved. If he makes a mistake, many act as if that is just not acceptable. With excellent coverage of sport today, every decision is scrutinised and woe betide if they erred in any way. Perfection is the minimum standard.

The truth is referees have always made mistakes but without camera proof, it was accepted that no one could be sure if they had. The problem with humans is we can have a selective memory. Forgetting when decisions went with our team and then excellent recall for those that hurt our side. I have seen games where mistakes went both ways yet in the press conference later, the coach only seemed to recall the ones that went against his team.

Another thing to consider is that we all make errors in our lives. The players, coaches and officials all have good and bad days. However, with selective memory it's easy to begin thinking that there is bias against our team. Now that we have excellent moving images of what happens and numerous angles of any play, a biased referee cannot get away with it. For that reason, refereeing has never been fairer - in the sports I follow at least.

At the end of the season, decisions will even out and the top placed teams are there on merit, not dubious officiating. The only proviso I will make is that some referees are perhaps less likely to act against a top player as opposed to a run of the mill type. This could be born out of subconscious respect. If so, then it should be pointed out to them by someone who oversees their work.

In the UK some top people running rugby league sports clubs have publicly attacked what they see is the unfairness of on field decisions which always seem to go against their side. It's understandable that a poor run of results can frustrate. However, the mistakes of the team are what impacts most on a side. Besides, complaints should be handled privately.

The fact is letting your team believe that the officials are against them must be demoralising. How much better to focus on where the team could improve. Build resilience by telling players who are upset about a decision to lift their chins up and dig deep. It will build character, improve morale and increase the success rate. Officials do their best in a difficult job so cut them some slack and that will build their confidence and improve their performance.

Picture source: Rugby-League.com.