Being a rugby referee is the worst job on the pitch. No one wants to do it, and numbers are declining worldwide. Referees have two main jobs: managing the game and taking the blame from the losing team. The abuse they receive online is so bad that World Rugby has hired a data science and monitoring company to protect them. But let’s be honest, the only way for them to be safe is to stay away from the internet altogether.
Referees like Ben O’Keeffe and Angus Gardner have become trending topics after matches, with players, coaches, and the public dissecting their decisions. O’Keeffe was even booed before a match. It’s not just the online abuse, though. Coaches now record hour-long videos critiquing referee performances and publicly accuse them of bias.
Refereeing has always been a tough job. In the very first Test rugby game in 1871, the referee, Hely Hutchinson Almond, admitted that he had no idea if a scrum was legal or not. He awarded a try to Scotland because the English players made the most noise. This set the precedent that you shouldn’t piss off the referee if you want to win.
Rugby union is different from other sports. The laws are complex, with 163 pages of regulations. The scrum alone has 11 pages of laws governing every detail. Referees have to watch for multiple things happening simultaneously, most of which they can’t even see. In the past, players were trusted to regulate themselves, but over time, some players have become experts at bending the rules to their advantage.
Refereeing in rugby is subjective by nature. It’s all about interpretation and perspective. World Rugby has given up on trying to find an objective truth through video analysis because it only led to endless disagreements. The game relies on the belief that referees are acting in good faith, even when they make mistakes. It’s possible for two people to watch the same scrum and have three different opinions about what happened.
Being a rugby referee is a thankless job. It’s a constant balancing act of managing the game, dealing with criticism, and making split-second decisions. So the next time you watch a rugby match, remember to appreciate the referee and the difficult role they play in the game.