Awful refereeing and crazy red cards ruining rugby

It had to happen, because what’s a weekend of rugby without a flat-out awful refereeing decision? Sadly, nobody knows. That’s how frequently games are being ruined by crazy decisions by referees, power-hungry television match officials (TMOs) and, perhaps most of all, the laws of the game. Yet World Rugby bosses continue to sit on their hands.

The Waratahs-Sunwolves Super Rugby match in Sydney on Saturday night was the latest to be tarnished by a head-scratching decision, after Sunwolves wing Semesi Masirewa was red-carded for a dangerous tackle on Bernard Foley.

Let’s put it this way. When the Australian broadcasters say it didn’t warrant anything more than a yellow card, you know something is wrong.

To be honest, it’s a wonder Sunwolves acting head coach Tony Brown didn’t breathe more fire than he did after their 77-25 hiding, given how freely he criticised decisions when he was in charge of the Highlanders last year.

Brown still had plenty to say, including calling for World Rugby to introduce a similar system to the NRL, in which players are put on report.

‘‘A tough one to take as a team, as a coach you’re going ‘yellow card, maybe’,’’ Brown said.

‘‘I don’t think there’s any intent in there. It was just unfortunate.’’

He’s not wrong, only Argentine referee Federico Anselmi thought otherwise.

Who knows if he was persuaded by a Waratahs player howling for a red card before he inspected the incident on the mammoth screen at Allianz Stadium, but Anselmi didn’t waste a heck of a lot of time in deciding he would pluck the red card from his pocket.

‘‘Lifting tackle, landing on his head, very dangerous, it’s a red card,’’ he told Masirewa.

TMO Damien Mitchelmore agreed with the decision.

There’s no arguing Masirewa lifted Foley past the horizontal, and that he hit his head. But Masirewa did not drop him, nor did he drive his head into the ground.

Clumsy? Yeah. Unfortunate? Yeah. Red card? You’ve got to be kidding.

No wonder Brown is calling for a review system to be introduced, particularly when similar, or worse, tackles weren’t met with the same punishment. The inconsistency is what’s most enraging.

What’s clear is it’s becoming laughable. Slashing the rule book in half at the start of the year clearly hasn’t worked, and it’s got to the point where people are going to start switching off due to the endless controversies shrouding the game.

It’s time World Rugby starts listening to the people most affected by the constant blunders, and to start making changes.