Amit calls for confidentiality in referee review process
The system of reviewing rugby matches will continue with the appointment of qualified people instead of it being scrapped altogether, said Tony Amit, president of the Sri Lanka Society of Rugby Football Referees (SLSRFR).
“When you have a review committee or technical committee, you need to have certain qualified people such as an (World Rugby) Educator or Level II CMO (Coach of Match Official). But we must not have double standards,” said Amit urging officials to maintain confidentiality in the review process.
“It should be a confidential thing between the Referee Review Committee and the Referees Society. Before they could come out of the room, the news has gone out that the referee did this and that. And it goes on and on. That is bad. It’s a confidential thing. It can’t go out,” reiterated Amit who felt duty bound to protect young referees as head of SLSRFR.
“These boys are just 22 or 23. The pressure is too much. The reason I am saying this is because today if you coach a junior team you get Rs. 50,000 minimum. A referee gets nothing. It’s not fair,” he said on criticism of referees.
“It (review) should be properly monitored. It’s easy to condemn them because there are so many cameras now. But in other countries they do not highlight mistakes of the referee. Here too much prominence is given. As leader of the referees, I have to nurture. There are certain issues which we will rectify,” said Amit one of few officials apart from Dilroy Fernando, Nizam Jamaldeen and Aruna Jayasekera, to have blown in international matches overseas.
Responding to criticism that some SLSRFR officials were having conflict of interest, he said: “As president and chairman of the assignment committee, I am not assigning myself for any games unless ofcourse there is a shortage. The only ‘paid servant’ in the society is Anil Jayasinghe (Referees Manager). He is the cog between the Union (Sri Lanka Rugby) and Referees Society. He is the one who facilitates with ARFU (Asia Rugby), SLR and SLSRFR. He has to be there for every meeting. And he is an educator also.”