Whistleblower walk out
JUNIOR football matches are being played without referees tired of copping abuse from players, coaches and spectators.
Several under-14 and younger grade Northern NSW football games have been played without match officials, after reports of sexism and threats made to officials.
In a letter to all clubs in July, Football Mid North Coast said that on one weekend 50 of the competition’s 100 referees were unavailable.
While much of this was attributed to Covid and injuries, technical referee director Gregg McDonald said abuse was also a factor.
“The instances of verbal abuse, disgraceful language, physical taunts and violent acts on the field of play and examples of lack of respect toward match officials has seen several referees opt out of officiating,” the email said.
Lee Jenkins, 38, who has been refereeing for just two years, said she had seen taunting and sexism. “You’re under the microscope. Every error gets picked up,” she said.
In an under-12 fixture, Ms Jenkins said she was mocked by a coach for being a woman.
“The abuse and dissent is definitely a shock. Sexism is prevalent in the game and it bleeds into other facets of life.
“When kids see how their coaches abuse female referees, they might take it home. They’re meant to be role models.”
Martin Gadd, 48, has been making calls since he was 14 but is seeing many junior referees walk out on the job.
“Abuse is the No.1 cause for people leaving. It’s a real shame,” he said.
In one game, Mr Gadd said he saw an under-13 team coach threaten a referee. The coach was suspended. He said spectators also ganged up to intimidate match officials.
In 2022, Northern NSW Football implemented the green shirt program – a system in which first-year referees wore a shirt to denote they were still in training.
Mr Gadd said there weren’t enough referees to do an effective job consistently. “Some referees do seven matches a day. They get exhausted and it’s hard to make decisions.”
Mr Gadd believes clubs have a responsibility to recruit for referees and coaches should engage in referee courses to be up-to-date with the rules.
“We only had one club turning up when we offered a refereeing workshop to run through the laws. That’s not enough commitment.”
Ally Gadd plays women’s first-grade football and tried refereeing when she was 14, but said the abuse drove her away.
“I was nervous. Having older women yelling at me every time a call didn’t go their way made it hard to want to continue,” she said.
Mr McDonald said widespread education was needed to raise awareness: “We’ve had another senior referee leave this week due to abuse.”
He noted that most referees were not paid much, and a focus on referee reaction would be assessed over the pre-season.
Last week, he said an under-11 coach violently taunted a 14-year-old female referee leading to tears.
He said Football NSW’s goal was to provide better incentives for referees to stay, such as a safe, inclusive environment.
Football South Coast CEO Ann-Marie Balliana said referee numbers in junior ranks were strong, but thin for senior competitions. “In a recent survey we sent to referees that have not re-registered, one third identified abuse as being a key contributor” she said.
In June, the Manly Warringah Football Referees Association said it had “lost” about 100 referees to the game.
A Football NSW spokesman said retention of referees was an ongoing issue.
“Like many sports we face challenges with the behaviour of a minority of people that don’t behave appropriately towards our referees,” he said. “Football NSW proactively discourages bad behaviour across its community through ongoing communication and engagement with key stakeholders.
The Don’t Cross the Line document provides associations and clubs with step-bystep initiatives to help prevent poor behaviour, actions to be taken when poor behaviour occurs and recommended procedures and sanctions to ensure appropriate action is taken.
“Football NSW also takes a zero-tolerance approach to all forms of misconduct and verbal abuse towards referees.”
He said Football NSW was actively seeking and recruiting new members via the introduction of special free courses.