posted Nov 12, 2008

Smith voiced his opinion, and I'm sure that he knew he wasn't going to get a NH ref for the match, but thought what the heck, I'll give it a go and make a furor about it all and see what happens.

What I still can't get over and it seriously boggles the mind, and has been pointed out already by ElGenerico is that the host nation has refs from the same country in their games!

It's ridiculous!!!! Doesn't happen in any other major "world cup" that I can think of.

Part of the reason for reviving the whole RL World Cup was to showcase it again. Show the world that it's a good sport that's worthy of taking notice of. To get sponsors on board and get more money into the game on a global scale. To show case it's professionalism as a sport and of the players and teams that play it... having an Australian referee, refereeing Australian matches... in ****ing Australia!!!!!!!!!!! - does not show the rest of the world anything like this.

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posted Nov 12, 2008

I live in NZ but all my family ive in Oz and I visit often. The overwhelming impression I get from Aussies is an unbelievable narrow mindedness. I call them navel gazers. I have never known a nation so obsessed with itself. That's why I couldn't live there. That is also why neutral refs should always be employed. Archer has been a joke. I prefer Hayne any day. You must understand the game is run by Australia, for Australia. Unless there is a powerful international body, you will get this bizzare situation that Aussie refs control games with the 'Roos playing.

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posted Nov 12, 2008

It's good to read a fair, open-minded comment from a union fan, but I think we should take into consideration ElGenerico's viewpoint. I'm sure Aussie refs wouldn't be intentionally biased, but it's the way the situation appears to people outside the game that's important. I would point out to ElG that until fairly recently cricket has employed 'home' umpires in test series. Nevertheless, they have tended towards neutrals in recent years for that very reason. It's not as if there are not enough referees from different nationalities to avoid this situation.

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posted Nov 12, 2008

Rugby league (as far as i am aware) is the only sport where a referee from Austalia can referee a match for the country where he lives.
It is the same in Super league as was raised this year where a referee is in charge of a clubs junior fan club but is allowed to referee that club in a super league game. There may be no intentional bias but there could be a conflict of interest.

I dont see how the bodies that be can't understand why fans, players and coaches all get anoyed by this . Especially at an international level.

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posted Nov 13, 2008

why would a NZ ref for Eng V Australia be any less unfair than an OZ ref? They play in the same domestic comp

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posted Nov 13, 2008

Domestic Competition should not have any bearing on this as shown in example below.

In rugby union if England Play Scotland an English/Scottish ref cant referee the game but a welsh referee can even though the welsh referee will more than likely ref in the domestic competition.

The domestic competition has no bearing on international refereeing duties.

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posted Nov 13, 2008

superjamesw, that has always been the case. Nothing has changed in the past year regarding who a referee supported as a child. The rules were always about where the ref lived. Take my own situation for example. I was born and brought up in Hull. Was and am still now a Hull KR season pass holder but I live in Sheffield. In this situation under the old accepted standards, I could referee either Hull club but could not referee Sheffield. Now that was stupid.

IMO none of the referees have shown any bias, what the southern hemisphere officals have shown is that despite several protestations to the contrary they are poor. I wouldn't even offer Archer the U13's game I've got this weekend.

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posted Nov 13, 2008

Up until this year the domestic never saw a match offical who supports a club referee that club.

I am not saying any of the match offials were bias what i am saying is there is a conflict of interest and that Rugby League is the only sport in which this happens.

I agree that the standard of the ref's has been poor but not as poor as the selection made by Tony Smith (but will discuss that on a different thread)

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posted Nov 14, 2008

I don't know why we worry about not having British ref's, when we do they only over compensate so as not be accused of bias. I remember when Steve Ganson sent off Morley after the first tackle of the game at Old Trafford against the Aussies, if that had been the other way round he would have just put it on report for fear of being assused of bias.

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posted Nov 14, 2008

I'm sorry superjamesw but that's rubbish. What about Richard Silverwood who because he doesn't live in Leeds still refereed Leeds last year? Stuart Cummings couldn't referee matches involving Widnes but he could and did referee Whitehaven, the team he supported as a child and whilst that's not SL it was under the same rules. In this country if we didn't have home town referees doing clubs from their home towns then we wouldn't have any games played. I regularly referee a club which I have no affiliation to but which is less than 3 miles from my house.

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