NRL match officials vow to accept referee’s decision
Fears the referees will strike have been quashed by the chairman of the Professional Rugby League Match Officials.
The NRL’s dispute with the referees has come to an amicable conclusion after 11th-hour talks resulted in the parties agreeing to trial the one-referee system for the remainder of the 2020 season
The breakthrough came following a meeting between Australian Rugby League Commission chairman Peter V’landys and the full-time referees late on Friday.
As a result, the referees and match officials withdrew their claim before the Fair Work Commission, which was scheduled to take place this weekend.
It also removes one of the few remaining headaches for the NRL as they prepare for the resumption of the premiership on May 28. V’landys, who had made no secret of his disappointment with the actions of the referees union in resisting change, welcomed the resolution and said the outcome was in the game’s best interests.
“This is an excellent outcome for the game and all its stakeholders,” V’landys said. “Can I thank the individual referees for the way they conducted themselves during today’s discussion.
“It was heartwarming to see their desire that nothing stands in the way of the May 28 commencement of our great game and they want to be an integral part of its success. The new rule changes will make our game faster and more entertaining. Most importantly it will address the biggest on-field issues, which are speed around the ruck and the eradication of the wrestle.”
The legal challenge was set to cost the NRL as much as $200,000, a financial blow at a time when the code is counting every penny. The matter looked set to be decided by independent members of the Fair Work Commission but V’landys managed to pull off another miracle as he resolved the situation only days before the premiership is due to return when Parramatta meet Brisbane.
As part of the peace resolution, it was agreed that one referee would officiate NRL matches for the remainder of the 2020 season on a trial basis.
A minimum of 22 full-time referee positions would be retained in 2020 and 2021, and a review of the system would be conducted when the season ends by a working group of players, coaches, referees and NRL management.
Their recommendation will be presented to the ARL Commission for their good faith consideration in determining the future officiating model for the NRL.
“We are pleased that we have a solution that gets us all to the end of this season,” referees union chair Silvio Del Vecchio said.
“We always said that the game will go ahead next week, and it will, that’s what we always wanted.”
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