Should Superleague referees be allowed to ref games involving their hometown club?

[Tommy Johnson]

Jack Smith from Wigan is the referee for the Hull KR v Wigan fixture.

The RFL could ensure referees don’t ref games involving their hometown club.

Thoughts…..

 

[LeeF]

10 minutes ago, Tommy Johnson said:

Jack Smith from Wigan is the referee for the Hull KR v Wigan fixture.

The RFL could ensure referees don’t ref games involving their hometown club.

Thoughts…..

 

Why?

What happens if a Match Official supports a different team to where he lives?

Why should the best officials not officiate the best games?

[Tommygilf]

Our refereeing pool isn't that big to make these decisions.

[LeeF]

21 minutes ago, Tommygilf said:

Our refereeing pool isn't that big to make these decisions.

The size of the pool is irrelevant. I’ve not seen an example of a referee deliberately “favouring” their hometown team and would love the OP to try to show otherwise

[gazza77]

1 hour ago, Tommy Johnson said:

Jack Smith from Wigan is the referee for the Hull KR v Wigan fixture.

The RFL could ensure referees don’t ref games involving their hometown club.

Thoughts…..

 

Is it compulsory to support your hometown club anyway?

[Tommygilf]

34 minutes ago, LeeF said:

The size of the pool is irrelevant. I’ve not seen an example of a referee deliberately “favouring” their hometown team and would love the OP to try to show otherwise

I totally agree, until there is the suggestion of that level of bias then we can make a decision.

I do think its reasonable to get to a stage where refs can declare to the RFL the club they supported prior to becoming a ref though, a bit like in football?

[Futtocks]

1 hour ago, Tommy Johnson said:

Jack Smith from Wigan is the referee for the Hull KR v Wigan fixture.

The RFL could ensure referees don’t ref games involving their hometown club.

Thoughts…..

 

 

[jacksy]

My stance on internationals is neutral refs.

I feel the same way about SL.

[Eddie]

9 minutes ago, jacksy said:

My stance on internationals is neutral refs.

I feel the same way about SL.

I think most people would agree with that, but being from a town isn’t necessarily the same as supporting that club. While I don’t doubt Jack Smith’s integrity for one second, if he’s a Wigan fan it’s best that he doesn’t ref their games if there’s someone else available, just so nobody points the finger if he does make a wrong decision in their favour. 

[Simon Hall]

Should a player from Wigan not be allowed to play against Wigan, just in case he supports them and tries to influence the game in their favour? That would be daft, wouldn’t it?
 

Same principle with referees. They’re professionals. It’s their job. 

Next. 

[LeeF]

1 hour ago, Tommygilf said:

I totally agree, until there is the suggestion of that level of bias then we can make a decision.

I do think its reasonable to get to a stage where refs can declare to the RFL the club they supported prior to becoming a ref though, a bit like in football?

You definitely used to have to advise the RFL who you supported. I still got appointed to games though ….

[LeeF]

29 minutes ago, Eddie said:

I think most people would agree with that, but being from a town isn’t necessarily the same as supporting that club. While I don’t doubt Jack Smith’s integrity for one second, if he’s a Wigan fan it’s best that he doesn’t ref their games if there’s someone else available, just so nobody points the finger if he does make a wrong decision in their favour. 

So Wigan are in a final. Jack Smith is the best referee of the season so shouldn’t he get appointed especially as his income both for that and future seasons is impacted by the level of matches he officiates. 

[Tommy Johnson]

30 minutes ago, Simon Hall said:

Should a player from Wigan not be allowed to play against Wigan, just in case he supports them and tries to influence the game in their favour? That would be daft, wouldn’t it?
 

Same principle with referees. They’re professionals. It’s their job. 

Next. 

It’s not the same principles. A player can’t influence a game based on decisions. The topic was RFL match officials not players.

 

[Simon Hall]

11 minutes ago, Tommy Johnson said:

It’s not the same principles. A player can’t influence a game based on decisions. The topic was RFL match officials not players.

 

Of course they can, ever seen a player give a penalty away?

[Tommy Johnson]

6 minutes ago, Simon Hall said:

Of course they can, ever seen a player give a penalty away?

That’s not a decision Simon.

[Hopie]

I recall refs didn't used to be able to officiate the team they support, but then they changed it because Ganson was a Saints fan and they kept getting in the finals and he wasn't able to referee the finals his position deserved.

[HullWire]

Can a police officer from Wigan police a fight between a Wigan Fan and a Hull KR fan, or should they get someone from a neutral place to deal with it?

[Sports Prophet]

5 hours ago, Tommy Johnson said:

Jack Smith from Wigan is the referee for the Hull KR v Wigan fixture.

The RFL could ensure referees don’t ref games involving their hometown club.

Thoughts…..

 

What if Jack didn’t support Wigan. What if his family were staunch KR fans and moved to Wigan but Jack supported KR when he grew up?

Referees are neutral. My only desire on neutrality is in internationals, but we are a long way from fulfilling that.

[Sports Prophet]

3 hours ago, Tommygilf said:

I totally agree, until there is the suggestion of that level of bias then we can make a decision.

I do think its reasonable to get to a stage where refs can declare to the RFL the club they supported prior to becoming a ref though, a bit like in football?

What if they lie and say something like Hemel Stags?

[Tommygilf]

4 minutes ago, Sports Prophet said:

What if they lie and say something like Hemel Stags?

Then they are people without integrity.

[Poptart]

14 minutes ago, Tommygilf said:

Then they are people without integrity.

Whereas if they tell the truth they don't have the integrity to referee a game correctly?

[17 stone giant]

38 minutes ago, Sports Prophet said:

What if they lie and say something like Hemel Stags?

They'll get found out during the referees induction ceremony.

"Should anyone present know of any reason to disbelieve that Mr Referee is a Hemel Stags fan, speak now or forever hold your peace"

Anyone found to be lying gets extradited to Australia, where they can referee any game they want.

[The Hallucinating Goose]

Of course they can, they're trained professionals that are there to carry out a particular job and they aren't going to compromise the trust and respect given to them by the RFL just because they support a particular team. Doing their job is more important than loyalty to their team.

I work in a gym and when I'm training individuals I don't offer a stellar workout to Hull FC fans and make sure Hull KR fans go home having done no training but having me offered them a massive chocolate cake instead. I'm doing my job which is more important than the team I support.

[gingerjon]

8 hours ago, LeeF said:

So Wigan are in a final. Jack Smith is the best referee of the season so shouldn’t he get appointed especially as his income both for that and future seasons is impacted by the level of matches he officiates. 

That is literally how reffing works in other sports so yes.

[Maximus Decimus]

11 hours ago, Tommy Johnson said:

Jack Smith from Wigan is the referee for the Hull KR v Wigan fixture.

The RFL could ensure referees don’t ref games involving their hometown club.

Thoughts…..

 

You won't win on this one. There is a very much accepted opinion, that involves referees being professionals as if that is akin to bring a robot.

It's not about the fact they might favour the team they supported as a kid, this is probably not much of a risk, it's about it making things unnecessarily messy. 

It reminds me of when you go to youth rugby/football and the coach's kid is on the team. There are a couple of scenarios that play out. Either the coach appears to plays them too much, or in a favourable position and gets grief from other parents, or more likely his kid gets taken off more than the other players because his dad is trying to play fair.

Referees are of course influenced by outside factors: the reputation of past players/teams, the crowd, intimidating coaches etc. To say otherwise is dogmatic rather than realistic.

One concrete example I've always used when this comes up, is when Morley was sent off in 2003 against the Aussies after 12 seconds. I don't think Ganson sends an Australian off in that same circumstance. Being British complicated that decision unnecessarily.

Of course, the one justification is a lack of high-quality referees and that is a genuine problem in RL, especially internationally. However, we shouldn't use neutral refs purely because we're trying to prove a point, if it can be avoided it should be.

After all, if it was England-Argentina in a World Cup final, and FIFA had appointed an Argentinian referee, I don't think it would feel like a good justification hearing that FIFA had appointed a professional.