logo
Rugby families, staff lashed for 'appalling' behaviour towards referees

Rugby families, staff lashed for 'appalling' behaviour towards referees

Junior rugby league referees, who can be as young as 13, are being threatened and copping verbal abuse, with families and team staff lashed for "appalling behaviour".
In one instance, a Sunshine Coast junior rugby league referee had to be escorted to their car due to threatening behaviour from players and families.
In another incident Rugby League Sunshine Coast said a referee was told "let's take this out to the car park" by staff members for a team of under 12s.
Yet another was shocked when a player called them a "f***ing r****d", and a fourth refused to referee some teams after consistent poor behaviour.
The league made the incidents public in a missive to all clubs and a post on social media.
Sunshine Coast Falcons chairperson Ashley Robinson said the behaviour was "embarrassing", particularly with officials and volunteers starting as teenagers.
"For them to be treated poorly by players and parents is appalling because if there are no officials there is no game and a lot of these referees are young kids," he said.
"If you think you can do a better job, go do a referee's course and get involved because you wouldn't want to see that abuse happen to your own child."
Mr Robinson said one of the problems was that parents were "living through their children" on the field.
And he said other parents and fans also had a role to play.
"We are all responsible to speak out when we see someone doing the wrong thing," he said.
"If it is a player, [the referee] needs to stop the game, call the coach onto the field and tell them if they can't get their kids under control 'then I will'.
"If it's a parent they need to stop the game, go over to the sideline and actually single them out and say that they will not continue this game until this club sorts out whoever is misbehaving."
Mr Robinson said in his decades in the sport it had always been hard to recruit officials and volunteers, and the bad behaviour only made it tougher.
Bad behaviour in junior sport is not unique to the competition on the Sunshine Coast.
Earlier this week a former elite soccer coach on the Gold Coast urged parents to stop yelling from the sidelines.
In early 2024, Queensland Rugby League (QRL) introduced a "green socks" program so fans and players could tell when referees were under 18.
QRL's Clayton Sharpe said it was about protecting emerging referees and officials from aggression.
"Primarily it is about treating young referees with respect, refraining from abuse, and understanding that our emerging match officials are still learning — just like the players," he said at the time.
In 2021, New South Wales Rugby League began banning competitive games for children under 13 and banned tackling until midway through under 7s.
In a statement Rugby League Sunshine Coast warned there would be penalties if the behaviour continued.
"Sunshine Coast Junior Rugby League firmly stands behind our referees in all instances regardless of excuses given by those who are of the belief that their actions are justified," a spokesperson said.
"We are an organisation which fosters a safe environment where referees, just like players, are allowed to make mistakes without fear of retribution.
"For any player, team staff or spectator who disagrees with our values then we ask you to reconsider your involvement with rugby league on the Sunshine Coast."
Competition organisers have warned the league is considering penalties, including fines and the de-registration of players.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

‘Moronic': Fury over Australia's tobacco prices
‘Moronic': Fury over Australia's tobacco prices

News.com.au

time13 minutes ago

  • News.com.au

‘Moronic': Fury over Australia's tobacco prices

OPINION I don't know about you but when I'm doing something and it has unintended consequences, I usually stop. It seems like the sensible thing to do. I mean, if you took paracetamol to ease your headache and it made you chunder up your guts you'd probably look for another solution. Enter Treasurer Jim Chalmers. He doesn't look for another solution – he keeps doing the same thing, even if it's provably moronic. A far more practical Labor man, NSW Premier Chris Minns, this week stuck his neck out and said what I've been saying for years – that the tax on cigarettes is far too high and it has caused a massive market for illicit cigarettes which fund organised crime. Regular readers and viewers of my programmes on Sky News will know this has long been a bugbear of mine. I tried to warn just how bad this would be but no one seemed to take notice. With more than 100 tobacco shops firebombed in Victoria as warring gangs fight to control the black market and that war now spreading to Sydney, Mr Minns has had enough. He warned that police would have to be taken away from other important crimes, such as domestic violence, and diverted to illicit tobacco if there was any hope of stemming the rising tide of dodgy durry shops. But he'd rather not do that. He'd rather the federal government just took responsibility for the fact it caused this mess and cut the tobacco tax to neuter the illicit market. 'The massive excise increase to tobacco has meant that people haven't stopped smoking,' Mr Minns announced. 'They've just transferred their sales into illegal tobacco sales, which I don't think is helping New South Wales or any other state. 'So my view is, let's have a look at this policy, and is it working.' It's not. Senior police in Victoria, too, have raised the issue of cutting – or at least pausing – the tobacco excise with the federal government. Tin-earred Dr Chalmers said on Wednesday that he didn't 'think the answer here is to make cigarettes cheaper for people'. 'I think the answer here is to get better at compliance,' Dr Chalmers said. 'I'm not convinced that cutting the excise on cigarettes would mean that would be the end of illegal activity.' Does he honestly understand what he's saying? Reducing the tobacco tax, which has driven the price of legal ciggies to $50 or $60 a pack, wouldn't make cigarettes cheaper for people. They're already buying them for $15 or $20 under the counter in dodgy shops. He may have missed it but that's the point here. And of course it wouldn't be the end of illegal activity – people will always break the law – but it would help to reduce or, at least, stall the black market. This all or nothing approach is what has made illicit tobacco so lucrative for hardened criminals. As for compliance – why should it be the responsibility of the states to fix up the mess made by the feds? The federal government levies the tax that has made this crime so prolific – nearly 40 per cent of tobacco consumption last year and rising – but the states have to police the shops and sales. It's not Mr Minns' fault that Dr Chalmers and co are too stupid to admit they've inadvertently become the biggest mates of Middle Eastern crime gangs. Mr Minns would rather his coppers investigate murderers and wife-bashers. Dr Chalmers instead says the premier should run a protection racket for his extortionate tax on a legal product. Even in pure monetary terms Dr Chalmers must see that the massive excise has failed. An extraordinary $17.6 billion of tobacco tax has disappeared from the federal budget's forward estimates in the past year alone. Last year's federal budget projected $11.55 billion in tobacco tax this financial year. April's budget downgraded that to $7.4 billion – a 36 per cent reduction. Not because 36 per cent of smokers gave up in the past 12 months – they just moved to the illegal stuff. The tax take on tobacco has more than halved in five years despite the tax payable on a packet nearly doubling. Again, it's not because the number of smokers has halved in five years. Name me another tax in the history of Australia that has doubled, only for revenue to halve. The government knows all this but they're too embarrassed to reduce the excise because that would be to admit that at least a decade of 'public health' policy has been wrong. So nothing will change, this will only get worse and I will again be saying that I told you so.

F1 Academy driver Joanne Ciconte blazing a trail for Australian girls in motor racing
F1 Academy driver Joanne Ciconte blazing a trail for Australian girls in motor racing

ABC News

time19 minutes ago

  • ABC News

F1 Academy driver Joanne Ciconte blazing a trail for Australian girls in motor racing

At just 16 years of age, Joanne Ciconte is living life in the fast lane. The Melbourne-born teenager spends a significant portion of her life on planes, travelling around the world in pursuit of speed. Ciconte is the youngest driver in this year's F1 Academy, mixing it with some of the world's most talented female racers. She joins Aiva Anagnostiadis as the first Australians to contest the all-female series, who will this year compete across three continents over seven race weekends. A junior karting star who won the prestigious Pink Plate in 2023, Ciconte is in just her second year of single-seater motor racing. Now she wrestles a car with a top speed of 240 kilometres per hour, which from a standing start reaches 100kph in 3.6 seconds. "I think that this year has been a bit of a rollercoaster in the F1 Academy series," Ciconte told ABC Sport. "Jumping into the field of many mixed-experience drivers and older girls is something different. I'm always used to driving against boys." The series is in Montreal this weekend for the fourth weekend of the season. The Aussie teen has had a troubled year so far on the track, plagued by incidents often out of her control. But she does have a top 10 finish, which earned her two championship points, becoming the first Australian to achieve that feat in F1 Academy. "I think my attitude this year has [been to] make sure to try and progress and learn as quick as I can," a positive Ciconte said ahead of this weekend. "I believe the results will come from there." The profile of the F1 Academy has grown year-on-year, with each round of this year's series being part of a Formula 1 weekend. A new series on the entertainment streaming platform Netflix has recently been released. The program, F1: The Academy, aims to attract new audiences, similar to what the popular program 'Drive to Survive' did for F1. "What I'm most amazed about is how F1 Academy, and Susie Wolff (F1 Academy managing director), is doing such an amazing job bringing a spotlight on us female drivers," Ciconte said. "I think it's great to see how more and more followers and supporters for the series has grown over the years." As more eyes tune in to watch the women of the F1 Academy battle on track, the spotlight on each driver shines brighter. For Ciconte, the growing spotlight has allowed her to become a role model for young girls in Australia starting in motorsport — something she is embracing as she continues her own journey. "It's definitely part of the experience that I'm building in," she said. "I do get reminders that there are a lot of younger generation girls who want to be in motorsport and aspire to be in the position that I am."

South Africa skipper's DRS blunder saves Beau Webster and turns Test on its head
South Africa skipper's DRS blunder saves Beau Webster and turns Test on its head

News.com.au

time27 minutes ago

  • News.com.au

South Africa skipper's DRS blunder saves Beau Webster and turns Test on its head

At the end of day one of the World Test Championship (WTC) final, Australia are in the driver's seat, however if South Africa had not made a costly blunder in the second session things could be looking vastly different. South Africa's Kagiso Rabada was on fire with the ball early on day one, dismissing both Usman Khawaja and Cameron Green in the same over before the Proteas attack continued to do damage, with Australia 4-67 at lunch. Watch the biggest Aussie sports & the best from overseas LIVE on Kayo Sports | New to Kayo? Get your first month for just $1. Limited time offer. South Africa used two unsuccessful reviews on all-rounder Beau Webster and Steve Smith - which were both ruled as umpire's call - in the first session. But things could have been even worse after Webster, on 8 off 13 balls, missed a ball from Rabada that nipped back sharply and wasn't reviewed. 'Rabada is all over Beau Webster like a rash,' Nasser Hussain said on Amazon Prime. England great and South Africa bowling consultant Stuart Broad said: 'Goodness me, does that not look pretty close?' To which Australian cricket great Matthew Hayden added: 'You could mount a case there'. Replays showed Webster completely missed the ball and DRS showed it would have been given out if it was reviewed. 'Three reds, Stuart Broad spot on,' Hussain said. It was bizarre not to review considering they still had all three challenges remaining, due to the fact 'umpires call' does not constitute a loss of a review. Later, at 4-129, another lbw review came with Webster on 23 but the replay showed Webster middled the delivery. 'The reviews have not been the best part of their play today,' Ian Smith said in commentary. Webster was eventually dismissed for 72 by Rabada but the decision to not review a clear lbw proved costly. The review blunders amused Smith, who post-match said 'it looked pretty good to me'. 'It looked pretty good to me. I don't even know what happened there,' Smith chuckled. 'I don't even think it hit his pad, it looked like it hit his leg. Someone said they saw Rabada suggest he might have hit it but didn't look like it from my view. 'I'm surprised they didn't appeal more. Where I was I was like geez that looks pretty good. They had the chance to use the referral but didn't.' Australia were all out for 212, with Webster (72) and Smith (66) the only pair to make any sort of runs. In response, South Africa slumped to 4/43, a deficit of 169 runs, as Mitchell Starc finished the day with figures of 2/10 in seven overs.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store