Appalling

[Phil]

A leading referees society have taken the unenviable decision to withdraw all officials under the age of 18 from fixtures this weekend due to the lack of support they feel has been received after a junior referee was forced to send off a coach during an under 10s fixture a few weeks ago.

At the hearing on Monday the coach involved was ordered to complete a positive coaching course and if he reoffends in the next 12 months a 6 month ban will occur.

The Huddersfield Referees society believe that the duty of care to the young ref from Yorkshire Juniors an Youth has not been fulfilled in this case and that the coach had a lenient outcome because the disciplinary process used witness statements from the coaches own club to discredit the young referees report and therefore will withdraw their junior officials from fixture until such time they can guarantee their young officials are properly safeguarded.

A statement from the Referees Society reads...

Statement - Withdrawal of referees

We have withdrawn our u18s officials from the availability pool for this weekends Yorkshire Junior & Youth fixtures. We no longer feel that the league discipline will safeguard our officials when it comes to abuse, after recent findings from the discipline panel. Our appointments officer has emailed all clubs in the Huddersfield/Halifax/Bradford area that we cover to make them aware. We still have some adults available and will prioritise the oldest age groups and those clubs with multiple sides at home.

We have tried working with the league over the last few seasons to build relationships and keep rugby enjoyable for everyone, however this week has shown that no progress has been made. We feel like we have no voice. We can't safeguard our referees without the support of the league, and it has now come to the point that we have to take more drastic action to safeguard ourselves.

We apologise to the teams affected by this this week, as the majority are brilliant and supportive of our young officials. Some times a little action can make a big difference, and we hope that you can see past the inconvenience and support us.

 

[nadera78]

You're right it is appalling. I've never been a referee but I coached youth sports for 15 years and saw some abysmal behaviour from coaches and parents.. Even had to intervene a couple of times to support the ref. Governing bodies in all sports need to do an awful lot more to support the men and women who make competitive community sport possible.