ROBIN WHITFIELD (November 26, 1943 – July 20, 2025)
ROBIN WHITFIELD, who has died aged 81 after suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, was a top-level referee who took up the whistle after being given his marching orders as a player by his own club.
Between 1980 and 1994, he was in charge of more than 400 matches, including nine Tests, two of them in the World Cup, a State of Origin contest and three Challenge Cup finals.
Whitfield, who had a twelve-year career as a goal-kicking fullback with hometown team Widnes, Barrow and Huyton, with whom he fell into dispute due to disciplinary misdemeanours, once sent off six players in the same game.
It was a Premiership first-round fixture in May 1982 between Hull KR (two dismissals) and Bradford, who walked off the pitch in protest in the 56th minute after a fourth of their players, skipper Jeff Grayshon, was dispatched.
Whitfield abandoned the match and Hull KR, who had been leading 17-8, were later awarded the tie and Bradford were banned from the Challenge Cup, John Player Trophy and Premiership competitions, suspended for three years.
“The fighting started almost immediately. I warned the players I’d send them off, but it continued,” recalled Whitfield in a 2021 interview with totalrl.com.
“Five had been sent off, then Jeff Grayshon was involved in a tackle and got up complaining. He’d flattened someone, so I sent him off too.
“He turned to his teammates and gestured for them to go off. Apparently, they’d said if one more went, they’d all go.
“There were discussions in the tunnel. I said I can’t play myself and I can’t referee nobody, so I abandoned the game.”
Ironically, Huyton had during the 1974-75 season parted company with Whitfield, an uncompromising player who had a reputation of pushing the rules as far as he could, after he was sent off once too many times for their liking.
“In the end, they told me they wouldn’t pick me again. That’s why I became a referee,” he explained.
Poacher had turned gamekeeper, and he was his own man when in the middle.
“I did things my way,” he added.
“For example, I took the players back ten yards when the rule was just five. I just thought it would lead to more ball movement.
“Another time I refereed a Warrington versus Castleford match. The scrums were a mess back then, and you could find a penalty against either side in every one if you wanted to.
“So I got Les Boyd and Bob Beardmore together and asked what we should do about them. Les suggested uncontested scrums and everyone agreed. It led to a much cleaner game. Everyone at the RFL wanted to know why the game flowed so well. Eventually I told them and they said ‘you can’t do that’, but I was just using some common sense.”
Whitfield’s appointments included the 1986 Test series between Australia and New Zealand, the third 1983 Origin match in Brisbane (Queensland clinched the title) and the Challenge Cup finals of 1983 (Featherstone 14 Hull 12), 1986 (Castleford 15 Hull KR 14) and 1992 (Wigan 28 Castleford 12).
He was the elder brother of former Salford, Wigan, Halifax and Rochdale back Colin Whitfield.
RFL head of match officials Phil Bentham said: “Robin Whitfield will be rightly remembered as one of the leading Rugby League officials over many seasons through the 1980s and 1990s.
“He will also be remembered in Australia. He was one of only two British officials, with Billy Thompson, to have taken charge of a State of Origin fixture, having been flown to Brisbane for the third and decisive match of the 1983 series, which was won by Queensland.
“Two years later he refereed a number of Winfield Cup matches during what was the British close-season.
“He won the referee of the year award on three occasions before retiring in 1994.
“On behalf of the RFL, and current and former match officials, we send our condolences to Robin’s wife Lisa, his children, his brother Colin and his many friends in the sport.”
His funeral will be held on Monday 18th at 12 o’clock at St Michael’s RC Church, St Michael’s Road, Ditton, Widnes, WA8 8TF, with cremation taking place at 1.00pm at Widnes Crematorium.