Visa bungle delivered top referee Matt Cecchin back to the NRL in 2019

Top whistle blower Matt Cecchin will return to the NRL, lured back by the change in the refereeing directive to be implemented in season 2019.

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SIX months after walking away from the NRL, top whistleblower Matt Cecchin has been lured back by the promise of being allowed to let the games flow naturally in 2019.

After two decades of refereeing at the top level, Cecchin called it quits at the end of last season, weighed down by vile abuse and criticism and disillusioned by the direction former referees’ boss Tony Archer was taking the game.

But on the back of the NRL’s new head of elite football operations Graham Annesley demanding a change in the refereeing philosophy for the new season, Cecchin is back.

LISTEN! Fatima Kdouh speaks to Graham Annesley and Matt Cecchin about the refereeing issues the NRL faces, why Cecchin has returned and much more.

Referees will be granted a licence to control a game based on flow of a match and Cecchin believes the new mandate is perfectly suited to the way he likes to officiate.

“From the discussions I’ve had with squad members, there is a definite shift in the way we are going to officiate this year,” he said.

“It’s no secret that style of refereeing suits my natural game. There was the change required by me last year to officiate in a way that wasn’t natural to me — that wasn’t part of my natural game.

“It was important for me to referee the same way all the other squad members did. It would have been easy for me to be the outlier and say, ‘bugger you, I’m going to keep doing what I have always done’.

“But that’s not fair on the other referees or the players or the teams that require a consistent approach.

Cecchin was driven away from the NRL due to abuse from fans. Photo by Mark Nolan/Getty Images.

“It took a great deal of pleasure in being able to change but it still took a big chunk of enjoyment out of the way I referee.”

Last August, Cecchin revealed the emotional toll the game had taken on him after he received death threats after making a decisive call in England’s two-point win over Tonga in a 2017 World Cup semi-final.

He claimed mounting pressure on referees convinced him to quit the NRL.

Despite ending his NRL career, Cecchin wasn’t ready to put away the whistle and he agreed to join England’s Super League on a two-year deal.

But his visa application was denied on two separate occasions due to a quirk in UK legislation that doesn’t recognise referees as sporting professionals.

Cecchin bristled under the infamous crackdown last season. AAP Image/Joel Carrett.

Cecchin was due to land in England by January 7. But the protracted nature of his visa troubles forced Super League officials to replace him before the season kicked off at the end of January.

“The UK had never imported officials or referees in the same way they do players, coaches and conditioning staff,” Cecchin said. “That shocked everyone and disappointed everyone. We did the paperwork, we got the dog, got immunised and we started selling the furniture, but I got rejected because referees and officials don’t have a classification under their professional sports act.’’

Cecchin had signed to referee in England. AAP Image/Brendon Thorne.

The NRL is yet to determine the exact date Cecchin, who has refereed 326 games of rugby league, will return.

“I’ll leave that up to the NRL. I’ve been doing running and swimming. I didn’t want to get to England underdone. What I have missed out on is the pre-season work,” he said.