WRU chief in call for respect as player banned for 10 years
THE Welsh Rugby Union has said it is not afraid to make tough decisions regarding the abuse of referees after a player was banned for 10 years.
As part of an appeal for referees to be shown more respect, WRU community director Geraint John pointed to a recent case in which a player was banned for 10 years as the result of the “exceptionally serious nature of the offence” which showed significant and unacceptable disrespect to a young referee.
“We’re not going to tolerate poor behaviour,” said Mr John. “We are determined to stamp it out. But to do that we need the support of everybody in clubs and in school and in the minis and juniors to help us to do this.”
With the community season coming towards the end, Mr John has urged everyone involved to honour rugby’s core values.
“Rugby union was built on traditional values and behaviours and it’s vital that we maintain those as we head towards the end of the season,” he said.
“In particular, it is essential that our referees and match officials are respected at all times.
“We’re coming to the end of the season – there’s promotion and relegation. We know people will be there full of excitement and anticipation and we welcome the passion they bring – but what we are asking for is that people remain mindful and continue to respect each other at all times.
“Make sure you behave on the touchlines, make sure you are in your technical zones, clubs – make sure you welcome the match official to every single event as they are a pivotal part of the game – without referees there are no games.
“People will rightly talk about poor behaviour when it occurs and appropriate action is and will always be taken, but we have also got to remember that 90% of our games take place with no issues and excellent behaviour and we’d like to thank everybody involved for their contributions to maintaining this positive record.
“We’d like to thank clubs for welcoming our match officials to their facilities and making them feel welcome. We’re always looking for more individuals to pick up a whistle so we’re very conscious that when we do have abusive behaviour, we have to come down hard on those who transgress.”
Figures published by the WRU last October highlighted a number of incidents in the opening weeks of this season. A coach at Carmarthen Athletic Druids received a 20-week touchline suspension after one incident, while New Dock Stars RFC received a suspended financial penalty after players and spectators abused an official.
Last season, the matter of conduct from both players and off-field personnel towards match officials was raised at a mid-district rugby meeting, where it was claimed that three incidents were going through the courts system.
There is understood to have been more than double the incidents last season, compared to the previous one. Dozens of complaints from officials saw bans totalling more than 17 years dished out.
Despite that, Mr John is satisfied the abuse of referees remains a rare occurrence. The WRU states that out of 3,843 matches played this year in senior and youth rugby, 52 red cards have been brandished, which is just over 1% in total. When it comes to misconduct cases, there have only been 30 cases, equating to less than 1%.
“Match officials are a key element for our game, and we require a large number to cater for all games right across the spectrum, from senior male and senior women to our youth age groups and pathway teams,” added Mr John.
“There’s also minis and juniors to cater for, so we do see match officials as a crucial part of the pathway.”
He added that the WRU will be holding an integrity symposium on April 24 at the Principality Stadium which will include volunteers and representatives from the community game and shine a light on the work being done to tackle inappropriate and unacceptable behaviour in our game.
“The purpose of the symposium is to seek solutions and stimulate innovative thinking, with the aim of developing a cohesive strategy as to how we collectively deliver safe and inclusive environments and great experiences for participants in Welsh rugby,” he said.