IRB referees bringing the game into disrepute ‹ Savali News

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IRB referees bringing the game into disrepute

Tags:      Posted date:  October 8, 2011  |  No comment



Much has been said about the state of refereeing at the current Rugby World Cup.

And for the sake of the game – and the continued relevance of the sport’s four-year spectacle – the IRB has to take a more open-minded and a more proactive approach in addressing complaints levelled at it. Such complaints are useful feedback for the improvement of future Rugby World Cups.

The criticism is also timely as the Cup moves into quarterfinal playoffs this week. We certainly don’t want to go through another uncalled forward pass that, many Kiwis insist, robbed the All Blacks of World Cup glory back in 07.

To be fair, other sports also have their share of referees making bad calls that unfairly sends a team home, and their fans fuming.

Who can forget the Bloemfontein heartbreak last year? When a cross from England striker Frank Lampard rattled the crossbar and landed a full yard behind the chalk before it bounced back out again. The goal – millions around the world watched being scored – was disallowed by the referee. It was a very costly human blunder that cast a pall over England and put the tournament, in some disrepute.

Do we really want a repeat of that in this World Cup?

Many of the tens of thousands of Samoan rugby fans are bitterly disappointed following their team’s exit last week, albeit, in controversial circumstances. The question has to be asked. Why was a Welsh referee appointed to control the South Africa-Samoa game when obviously, the result would determine if Wales gets into the quarterfinals?

And who appoints these referees anyway? A quick Google search reveals it’s a body called the IRB Match Official Selection Committee, currently chaired by one Mr David Pickering. Who also just so happens to be the sitting chairman of the Wales Rugby Union. The choice was deliberate, the intention, obvious.

Nonetheless, if there is a review of Welsh referee Nigel Owens performance after this World Cup, we would like to point out these questionable decisions he made last Thursday, albeit, from Samoa’s perspective.

  Time Offense
1 1.04 Inside the SA 22m area- South African #1 holding onto the ball from a tackle and was not penalized
2 12.40 Inside SA 2m area- Undetected high tackle by South African #14 onto one of our players
3 12.43 5 meters to SA goal line- Penalty againstSamoafrom the ruck was not clear. SA should have been penalized instead fro slowing down the ball recycle
4 17.30 Knock on call by the referee, but luckily it was reversed when advised by the touch judge.
5 23.02 SA inside half- Penalty against Samoan #4 but he came trough the maul
6 31.02 SA inside half –Samoashould not have been penalized as the scrum was not deliberately wheeled.
7 48.38 Midfield- Referee did not see the interference by SA player at the Samoan throw in at the lineout, SA should have been penalized.
8 49.42 Inside SA territory – Deliberately slapped the ball forward by ?South African No 13 – the referee ruled as knock on. It should have been a penalty and issued with a yellow card.
9 56.30 Inside SA 22m – The referee unfairly penalizedSamoa#14 (David Lemi) but was not held in the tackle.
10 66.20 Inside SA 22m – at the ruck Samoa was hard on attack towards SA try line with the Samoan #2 (Mahonri Schwalger) heading for the try  line when SA #14 who was off his feet deliberately slapped the ball from the Mahonri’s grip resulting to the ball been knocked out from his hands. This player’s action should be ruled as a professional foul. He should be sin binned and penalty awarded toSamoa
11 69.10 Inside SA 22- Red card was too excessive for Paul Williams. Yellow card is more than enough for the offense. He used his palm instead of a fist as reported
12 General South African #6 was never picked up by the match officials of his repeated actions of sliding up from the side of the scrum the front row position.

You can argue up and down the merits of professionalism and impartiality, but no referee is an angel.

The onus should have been on the IRB to appoint completely neutral referees with no conflict of rugby and nationality interests. The whole process including the IRB’s governance structure is wrong and needs urgent revising.

The Commonwealth of Nations – which promotes good and fair governance throughout the Commonwealth world – should also insist on applying the same principles in the governance of this Commonwealth sport.

In this age of live tv coverage, multiple camera angles and instant replay, everything that happens on the field is transparent for the world to see.

It is time the IRB governed with some maturity. To look beyond its petty northern hemisphere comfort zone, and realize that the world – countries big and small – is picking up a rugby ball and expect to play on a level playing field.

That playing field can never be level if the United Kingdom continues to send three ‘national’ teams to IRB tournaments while every other country sends one. In fact, the biggest facade in world rugby is how the IRB and British unions managed to pull the wool over our rugby eyes that England, Wales and Scotland are different countries.

There are not 20, but just 18 countries at this World Cup.

Which brings us to some key issues we’d like to see in the next Rugby World Cup.

  1. Having completely neutral referees,
  2. British Lions to replace Wales, Scotland and England,
  3. Every team is given seven days rest between games.

 Failure to do so and we feel there is ample substance here to take these matters to a higher court.

 PRESS SECRETARIAT


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