Ricky Stuart slams 'weak people' pushing referee Matt Cecchin out of NRL

[markill]

The death threats are obviously out of order but when I read this from the linked article:

"Cecchin has spoken in the past about his battle with mental illness and said he takes it to heart if he does not referee well."

I am not sure he's in the right job anyway. If he is so hard on himself he's got a job where he's going to attract a lot of criticism and have every decision analysed. I think to be a ref you have to have the thickest of all skins of those involved in the game at the top level.

As an aside, we had some Australian friends visit this weekend and they reckon the standard of refereeing in the NRL is appalling and is driving fans away. They are not prone to going OTT but gave some examples from SoO games of blatant inconsistency as they saw it. The very thing we complain about most often over here.

Mental health and I'm sure Matt Cecchin's circumstances go beyond suggesting he needs thicker skin.

The piece I read about it made that point to emphasise how much he cared about being a referee and how important it was for him to do a good job. Maybe his personal life puts him in a sharper focus, maybe not (I hope not!), but either way I found it an engaging story of a guy who really wanted to do his best in the job he chose to make his career. He can't have done much wrong in his approach given how many games he's been involved in and the high profile he's reached.

If seeing a psychologist has helped him be a better ref and keep going at it longer than he may have otherwise then top respect to him.

What came his way after the World Cup semi is way beyond even for referees in this age of social media, constant criticism (which is as great when they get it right as when they get it wrong) and utter nonsense from fans so blindly biased that it needs a stronger word than ignorance. Just look at the knee-jerk nonsense reactions to every single 'ref for x game' thread on here'.

Whilst that isn't death threats, it all normalises the behaviour that it's acceptable to make completely unfounded attacks on a referee's integrity, that come from the poster's own profound inbuilt bias. Then, it makes the same people focus only on decisions that they decide went against their team. Then they make more offensive comments about the refs, and it builds. Then some refs fault b*llsh*t from coaches or players adds fuel to those immensely biased viewpoints, and it escalates. Some of those idiots get themselves so wound up that threats happen. This is not me saying the referees are all great at their jobs. I'm just saying the criticism goes too far.

[DaveO]

The death threats are obviously out of order but when I read this from the linked article:

"Cecchin has spoken in the past about his battle with mental illness and said he takes it to heart if he does not referee well."

I am not sure he's in the right job anyway. If he is so hard on himself he's got a job where he's going to attract a lot of criticism and have every decision analysed. I think to be a ref you have to have the thickest of all skins of those involved in the game at the top level.

As an aside, we had some Australian friends visit this weekend and they reckon the standard of refereeing in the NRL is appalling and is driving fans away. They are not prone to going OTT but gave some examples from SoO games of blatant inconsistency as they saw it. The very thing we complain about most often over here.

Mental health and I'm sure Matt Cecchin's circumstances go beyond suggesting he needs thicker skin.

The piece I read about it made that point to emphasise how much he cared about being a referee and how important it was for him to do a good job. Maybe his personal life puts him in a sharper focus, maybe not (I hope not!), but either way I found it an engaging story of a guy who really wanted to do his best in the job he chose to make his career. He can't have done much wrong in his approach given how many games he's been involved in and the high profile he's reached.

If seeing a psychologist has helped him be a better ref and keep going at it longer than he may have otherwise then top respect to him.

What came his way after the World Cup semi is way beyond even for referees in this age of social media, constant criticism (which is as great when they get it right as when they get it wrong) and utter nonsense from fans so blindly biased that it needs a stronger word than ignorance. Just look at the knee-jerk nonsense reactions to every single 'ref for x game' thread on here'.

Whilst that isn't death threats, it all normalises the behaviour that it's acceptable to make completely unfounded attacks on a referee's integrity, that come from the poster's own profound inbuilt bias. Then, it makes the same people focus only on decisions that they decide went against their team. Then they make more offensive comments about the refs, and it builds. Then some refs fault b*llsh*t from coaches or players adds fuel to those immensely biased viewpoints, and it escalates. Some of those idiots get themselves so wound up that threats happen. This is not me saying the referees are all great at their jobs. I'm just saying the criticism goes too far.

I took the quote literally to mean what it said. He's had mental illness issues and beats himself up if he doesn't think he reffed well. For his own mental health I was suggesting he's in the wrong job and I would not be surprised if a psychologist had suggested the same thing.

As to criticism of refs in general going too far, well where have you been for the last one hundred and odd years?

The only issue I have re criticism of refs is lack of respect on the field by players. His (or her) word should be law and no football like histrionics. The rest of it really is nothing new and anyone going into refereeing has got to know what they are letting themselves in for.

[markill]

Just because it's not new, doesn't mean it should be accepted without challenge.

[moto748]

Exactly. A hundred and fifty years ago everyone beat their kids. That doesn't make it OK. Attitudes change. I wonder how relaxed we'd all feel if we were the ones receiving internet death threats?

[Nezza Faz]

And of course, there'd be no game without them. They are not overpaid, carrying out their duties as a kind of "hobby" really but with the love of the game in their blood (for the vast majority).
Some of the language and abuse you see and hear at amateur level does nothing to aid recruitment and therefore you don't get the numbers coming through.
Professionals know this too - that is why there's a complete lack of these players taking up the whistle, once their playing days are over.

[DaveO]

Just because it's not new, doesn't mean it should be accepted without challenge.

It's not new but the key point is it will never grow old. Refs, umpires, whatever, in any sport are the subject of fans vitriol and always have been and always will be.

If you can't handle that, don't take the job. Or in this case stop punishing yourself by still doing it.

Without refs, as the saying goes, we'd have no game and I agree but to you think James Child (often slagged off on this forum) went into reffing expecting a knighthood from fans?