The Rugby World Cup has caused damage. Not only on the state of the French internationals, who are struggling, with rare exceptions, to regain their best level since the cruel quarter-final defeat against South Africa. But also, and above all, on the respect shown to the referees. It seems that the criticism, coming from players and supporters after the elimination of the Blues, opened a Pandora’s box. “This World Cup has generated a certain bitterness in the rugby environment regarding our role,” recognizes Tual Trainini, Top 14 referee, who notably officiated during the last Toulouse-La Rochelle final.
So much so that we are wondering if this influenced the behavior of the players on the pitch. The arms that go up to claim a penalty on virtually every contest in the rucks. Matthieu Jalibert, Cyril Cazeaux or Ben Tameifuna who make big gestures towards the referee Ludovic Cayre during the defeat of the UBB in Pau. The Rochelais caught by the patrol by chattering against Leinster. “It is not acceptable that for every decision, whether it is good or not, five players come to challenge it,” complained the Englishman Matthew Carley to Pierre Bourgarit. Did you understand ? You are the captain, control your team. »
Is rugby spinning out of control, becoming “footballized”? “On the field, this referee-player relationship is a jewel of our sport, which is envied by other federations, other sports,” notes Franck Maciello, national director of refereeing at the FFR. This respect is a cardinal value of our sport, and we must all come together to defend it. Constantly attacking referees’ decisions in a sport where the rule is still left to interpretation is to leave the door open to endless debates. »
Not necessarily a World Cup effect
Defendants, stand up. At the helm, Julien Dumora, captain of Castres Olympique, blithely recognizes that some have gone too far: “The behavior of the guys on the pitch has evolved with the referees. There are more and more requests for video, complaints of mistakes, things that we saw less often in the past. Lately it has increased a bit. » Since the World Cup? Not quite.
The numerous criticisms against the refereeing during the World Cup in France have not fundamentally changed the behavior of the players, according to all our speakers. The problem is a little older, even if those mainly concerned, the men in black, do not notice any particular deterioration, like Thomas Charabas, Top 14 referee:
In the matches that I referee, I don’t have that feeling. Afterwards, it also depends on what the referees accept or do not accept. The players don’t talk to me too much. I’ve been in the Top 14 for eight years, so the calling card is already handed out. Players allow themselves things with new referees that they would not allow with old ones. My first years in Top 14, I was 26, it was mentally tough because the players were testing me. »
“Players know the rules better”
Several factors could nevertheless explain this increase in complaints from players:
- “The fact that the replays are shown on the big screens, that the players are more and more aware of refereeing, that they know the rules better, we feel that this inevitably leads to more interest in the decisions we make. can take,” assures Tual Trainini.
- “Before, as soon as there was a little doubt, the video was requested. The game was also choppy in relation to these requests. Now, we see him less and less, to advocate the game, and on certain contentious decisions, there are complaints from the players,” reports Julien Dumora.
- “These complaints are more to support the referee so that the game is fairer. Referees are human beings, they make mistakes, but sometimes a mistake is spotted by a player, who tries to convey the message through his captain, with the aim of changing a decision which can make the difference. The constant evolution of the rules means that there are also things that can escape them,” estimates Beka Gorgadze, the captain of the Paloise Section.
Either way, players will always find a good reason to come and whisper in the ears of the referees. Some had even become specialists, like the rascals Sergio Parisse (now retired) or Rory Kockott (Stade Français, formerly of Castres). “It already happened to me, before the match, to warn the captains, telling them that this or that player should not lecture me all afternoon,” adds Thomas Charabas. Afterwards, I think that we should not expect players not to contest. They are in their match, obsessed with the very short term result, so it is up to us, referees, to be very tough with that. »
A wide range of sanctions
And the catalog of sanctions allows officials to best manage certain situations. Just ask Julien Dumora, whose team was penalized many times after certain protests. “Discipline has been our downside at Castres for several seasons. If, on top of that, we start demanding decisions from the referee… These are really things we talk about, and we want to move things in the right direction for us. There is a captain, it is up to him to go see the referee if necessary, the rest of the group must concentrate on the game and ignore the frustration that there may be on certain decisions . »
Concretely, the referees have several possible sanctions: broken arm, penalty, 10 additional meters, yellow card… “We will not make the referees respect by only saying: “We must respect them because it is good”, adds Thomas Charabas. In football, they have a yellow card which is worthless and a red card which will unbalance the match. We have a gradation in the sanctions which allows us to have more weapons to enforce ourselves. » And it is not Julien Dumora who will say the opposite. “But Castres has done a huge job on this. They are much less protesting than they have been in recent years,” recognizes Thomas Charabas. So, if Castres did it, everyone can do it.