Respect My Authoritaaaaaah! Part 1

We all have a love/hate relationship with referees. On the one hand our passions often compel us to vocalise our opinions on their work, but on the other hand the proud traditions of rugby require us to respect the ref at all times. Rugby players throughout the world frequently berate loutish football players for surrounding, intimidating and sometimes manhandling their referee. Whatever your opinion of them, their word is law. In the first of several interviews, we sit down with three of Finland's top referees to discuss life behind the whistle. The names have been changed to protect the "innocent".

Ruck Tales (RT): Most refs in Finland are close personally to one club or another - has this ever caused any problems on the field or off it?

Ref 1: I’ve heard complaints about biased refs several times in Finland and it’s nearly always based exclusively on a perceived association (real or not) between the referee and the opposition. The accusation always gets to me (whether it’s aimed at me or another referee) as it’s nearly always unfounded and effectively calls the referee a cheat. In sports, for me, there’s nothing worse that to be a cheat.

Ref 2: It did when I first started. The opposition thought I was biased towards my team and my team thought I was penalising them harder due to me trying to not appear biased. Off the field not so much, as I make myself available to the players from both teams and explain any calls they were not too sure about.

Ref 3: I’ve played around 10 years with my club and I’m still very close to it. It’s never nice to give a card to a friend but I had to do it once. It's never raised, to my knowledge, any problem on or off the pitch. I’ve asked our competition manager to minimise the matches I have to referee them, but it has happened and I had to do it.

RT: Refs have to step in and make big calls (such as Alain Rolland giving Warburton the red card in RWC) – how easy is it to make those calls when the rugby community here is so small and you know many of the players?

Ref 3: Well the Finnish championship is not really comparable, in importance, to RWC! Of course, we – players, coaches, referees – strive to be as good as we can. Knowing most of the players/coaches personally adds an extra ”pressure” to be as prepared as possible (fitness, knowledge of laws/the game) but as far as I’m concerned it’s still a hobby where I try to be as good as possible - but no one’s career depends on my calls!

Ref 1: I have never had a problem issuing the cards when required but it is in the back of your mind that you’re going to see this same player maybe three or four more times during the season and he’s probably not going to be the happiest to see you the following week.

Ref 2: It actually makes it easier, as explaining things/calls can (sometimes) be easier with people you know.

(photo by Rod McCracken - Law and Order: remember the ref is only doing his job!)

RT: Tempers can get a bit frayed during matches: any memorable incidents and how did you deal with it/them?

Ref 3: Over the last years, I learned how to deal with tempers. Basic management techniques (lower voice, keeping calm) usually help, but I’ve never had a problem giving players a 10-minute rest.

Ref 2: I did get given the finger and told to F-off during a game (the guy just happened to be the one that received the “team” yellow for repeated infringements). He turned his yellow into a red and got banned for a few games. Sometimes player will use colourful language when querying a call, but a ten-metre walk and a quick chat to the captain normally sorts this. Most players want to stay on the field, so a warning with “I do have other options” (complete with a pat on your pocket to indicate that you have cards) also cools things down. Refs are told that if you have to use yellow/red cards during a game you’ve failed at communicating, so I tend to use them as a last resort.

Ref 1: I’ve never refereed a game here that disolved into a mass-brawl or anything like that. Most of the time a yellow or red card to an offending player will sort out the problem and allow the rest of us to get back to the game at hand.

 

 Part 2 coming next week!  Have a rucking good weekend, everybody!