Young rugby referees face a dilemma
Assigning an inexperienced referee to control the Dialog League game between Police and Kandy has been severely criticised by many
Leading referees in Sri Lanka are admitting the fact that the lack of quality Referee Coaches or Educators is the main reason for the drop in standards which void Bandara Wekadapola of the London Society Rugby Football Union Referees (LSRFUR) is trying to fill albeit as an uninvited guest.
“Coaches are those who have experience as a referee. There are no individual coaches here. I get different coaches every week,” said a top referee speaking on condition of anonymity.
The situation is confounded when there is a lack of uniformity in educating referees.
“Referee coaches in Sri Lanka have to go on one path. When you take A, B, C and D, all are different. That is a dilemma for young referees. What ‘A’ tells is different from ‘B’. Then who suffers? What I tell young referees from my experience is, take what 10 people say but later analyze how to implement it practically on the field. I was brought up that way. Take advice from everyone but you also be creative. Don’t take everything at face value. Watch matches on Youtube and videos to spot your own mistakes,” said another referee.
“Some coaches are not updated and don’t know how to deliver. Although they are educated, they can’t get the message across,” he added.
“Refereeing is all about game management which comes with experience. I, as a coach, know what is your mistake. We don’t have dedicated coaches. In England it is different,” he said.
Training of referees is a huge section in the London Society, according to Wekadapola.
“There is a separate training manager responsible for London Society training. In each region there are separate training sections. For every match they send an advisor. After every game, normally every advisor spends minimum 45 minutes talking to us about the game. They first ask from me how I enjoyed (refereeing) the game, what are the difficulties or problems I faced. Then he opens his book and notes. First, he will tell my positive things, second my development areas and then what I did wrong on the field. Then within three days I get the report of my game,” said Wekadapola, whose only experience as a referee in Sri Lanka before joining the London Society was blowing a few junior matches.
“How they transformed me to develop as a premier referee was because of their advisors and coaches,” he reiterated.
“What is our standard compared to England. Their referees are on a higher level. If one of our guys is there and he wants to help us we should accept it. Everyone is trying to raise the standard of referees in Sri Lanka,” said a committee member of the Sri Lanka Society of Rugby Football Referees (SLRFRS).
“The law is same everywhere. It is how you manage the scrum for example. Law states prop can’t get up when shoving. I can stop it by speaking. Another will say to penalise when it happens. Are people paying 500 bucks to see a referee blowing the whistle or to see the game flow? If someone is offside but if it does not affect the game or if the ball goes out, there is no need to blow. Management of law depends on experience,” he pointed out.
“Refereeing is not just about fitness. If that is the case, we can get fit athletes to referee. Management is number one. Some young referees have confidence but can’t bear the pressure because they are not matured. The respect for a 25-year-old may not be the same for someone who is 40. The problem is not age but we have got stuck in fitness criteria,” he said slamming the SLRFRS for assigning a new referee for the Police vs Kandy first round match.
“There were complaints all around. It’s not the fault of the boy, the load was more. He should not have been assigned for that match. The Referee Coach and Assignment Manager should have known whether he has enough experience. It was not because of a lack of knowledge. He lacked match experience,” he pointed out.
It is not surprising that some new referees are keen disciples of Wekadapola.
“He voluntarily gives his education. It’s like getting a new tuition master. The Lankan society was not interested, though when he requested the first time they responded. He had plans. He can see our faults. Rugby is developed there (England). Their (London) Level 7 is equivalent to our ‘A’ division. We don’t see the reality,” he said.
“In the last five years we got down referees from abroad. Why is the need for foreign referees if referees are good 100% and educators are good 100%? He (Wekadapola) wanted to support with the London Society and World Rugby. He supported lot of people. We like to learn from others but the knowledge of referees became a challenge for educators because after a match they get private reviews. He was not seeking positions in our society but preventing referees from seeking his help is unfair,” he pointed out.