Local rugby league competition takes a stand against abusive behaviour towards referees, officials

A local junior rugby league competition has taken a stand against referee and official mistreatment, as the mother of a first-year ref details the shocking abuse her 14-year-old son has had to endure.

Referee and official abuse in the Souths Juniors has prompted a strong response from league officials.

REFEREE abuse has come under the spotlight at a local level, with one league taking the extraordinary step of issuing a public statement to put a stop to the negative treatment.

Souths Sydney District JRFL CEO Luke Curry called out poor behaviour in the statement, imploring those to stay at home if they can’t follow the rules.

“In recent weeks there has been a spike in poor adult behaviour at our junior league games,” it read.

“Verbal abuse of referees, threatening behaviour towards volunteers, relentless questioning of on field decisions by grown men and women towards young teenage match officials who are out doing what they enjoy.

“Souths Juniors will not tolerate this behaviour. We don’t want you in our league if you wish to carry on this way.”

Such is the magnitude of the issue, a young referee was forced to call off a junior fixture at the weekend, prompting the stern response from the league.

“Last week a team had to forfeit because the referees took a stand against verbal abuse and 30 kids missed a game of footy,” Curry said in his statement.

“Which team will be next. Our board will determine the structure of our competition going forward and if competition brings out the worst in some than its position in our junior league will be up for debate.

“I implore you to attend our grounds with a relaxed attitude. Enjoy watching the kids play and let everyone who is present have the experience they deserve to have.”

Kelly Henderson has experienced this problem first-hand, with her son and first-year referee Kash, 14, copping the brunt of sideline abuse.

As a maiden referee, Kash wears a bright yellow shirt that says ‘REFEREE IN TRAINING’, but Kelly said not even that stops poor behaviour aimed toward him.

“It’s been tough. I’ve never seen a kid spoken to so poorly from other adults,” she said.

“Even with his ‘in training’ shirt on, which are like L plates, they’re still aggressive towards him.

“He comes off the field quite deflated, saying that a coach told him he was wrong. It’s the same call every week and it got to the stage where he screenshotted the rule and showed them.

“As a parent it’s awful to watch. They don’t yell at their own child for making a mistake. They shouldn’t be yelling at him because he’s refereeing rather than playing.”

Despite the negativity, Kelly said Kash is still keen to get out there every Sunday and give his all.

“He still wants to go to training and keep learning,” she said.

“Kash is only 14, but it could be a career, you never know. He still loves it. I just wish parents would pull back a bit.”

The original statement was shared on the South Sydney District Junior Rugby League Facebook page, attracting 148 reactions and 23 shares.

“It’s absolutely disgraceful. My teenage son was verbally abused by grown adults while he was refereeing on Saturday. Thankfully he has a strong enough character to laugh it off and even with his lack of life experience, he knows this says more about the hecklers than it does about his referring abilities,” Daniela Grech commented on the post.

“It’s time for all people across our Junior League to not be apathetic to this and constructively work together to ensure our behaviour is at higher standards than we accept today,” Kieran Hickey added.

Originally published as Local rugby league competition takes a stand against abusive behaviour towards referees, officials