Refs' Response -- Fan Forum

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Subject: Refs' Response

Author:
Steve Brown

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Date Posted: 21:15:54 06/07/04 Mon

The Illawarra Referees would like to take the opportunity to respond to the attacks vented on them in this forum by its contributors who are fortunate to be able to hide behind their anonymous identities, a luxury that the referees do not have. We go out there week after week to participate actively in a game that we love, a game that we have a passion for that is greater than that of all the spectators combined that run us down. Our job is to apply the rules of the game and we will make mistakes just as players will make mistakes. Our goal is the same as that of the players - to minimise those mistakes. Our problem is that the average spectator doesn't know the difference between our mistakes and good decisions based on our knowledge of what is a complex set of rules. So to them the majority of our decisions are wrong.
We are in a no win situation. We are criticised for not promoting younger referees (when we can find some who will weather the abuse and stay with us) and our younger next generation referees are criticised when they do get the opportunity and maybe through lack of experience they don't show as much control as some of us more mature referees who have been through the ropes. But they will survive because fortunately the majority of local players under their control know that they are coming through and afford them some latitude because they also know that without them the future of our game is dead.
For the constructive critics and true supporters of the whole of our game thank you for your support, especially to the referees. To the destructive ones, you are always welcome to join us or at least pursue sufficient information about the rules and refereeing to understand some of the decisions we make. Who knows, you just might like it and become accustomed to being abused every week regardless of whether you're right or you're wrong. Now that's making a contribution isn't it!

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Replies:

Subject	Author	Date
Re: Refs' Response	Refs supporter	15:45:02 06/08/04 Tue