Ex-Irish ref calls for officials to stop ‘weak, meaningless’ warnings after England captain paid the ‘heaviest price imaginable’
Ex-referee Owen Doyle believes that players are not being sanctioned harshly enough for dissent.
Former Test referee Owen Doyle has called for more severe sanctions on players who verbally abuse match officials in matches.
Doyle feels that currently, referees issue weak and meaningless warnings to players who backchat, pointing to an incident during the United Rugby Championship clash between Munster and Benetton.
Soft sanctions on dissent
The issue that caught the former director of referees at the Irish Rugby Football Union attention was an exchange between Munster midfielder Tom Farrell and match official Mike Adamson.
Farrell lashed out at the referee after a high tackle occurred in the 60th minute of the match, with Malakai Fekitoa hitting the Munster centre high. Adamson played an advantage for the hosts before coming back for the penalty to Munster.
When he blew his whistle, he sought out Farrell and said to him: “If you shout at me like that again, you will leave the field.”
He reaffirmed his point to captain Tadhg Beirne, with play continuing with a Munster penalty.
However, Doyle felt that Farrell got off “scot-free” for his actions, which is becoming a trend in the game with the former referee calling for a return to harsher punishments for dissent, pointing to the price Dylan Hartley paid in 2013.
During the 2013 Premiership final, Hartley was alleged to have called referee Wayne Barnes a “f****** cheat” and was subsequently hit with an 11-week ban, which cost Northampton in the 37-17 defeat to Leicester Tigers but also resulted in him losing his place in the Lions squad to tour Australia.
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While Hartley was severely punished for his remarks, Farrell wasn’t even penalised.
“Adamson had good reason to admonish the otherwise excellent Tom Farrell, who threw some unnecessary verbal abuse at him. The referee told the player that a repeat would see him leave the field,” Doyle wrote in his Irish Times column.
“It’s a common modus operandi. England’s Dylan Hartley will forever wish Wayne Barnes had adopted it when he, correctly, red carded him, playing for Northampton against Leicester, in the 2013 English Premiership final.
“Hartley’s outburst cost him dearly, the heaviest price imaginable: his already secured place on the Lions, the last time they visited Australia.
Meaningless warnings
“So, instead of weak, meaningless verbal warnings about the ‘next time’, referees should apply an immediate sanction, the minimum being a penalty.
“A card is also available, the appropriate colour depending on the level of abuse. Adamson was right to be distinctly unamused. He spoke forcibly to Farrell, then confirmed things to Tadhg Beirne.
“The outcome was a penalty to Munster for a high tackle. But Farrell could still have been sanctioned and was fortunate to avoid ‘yellow’.”
He believes that the optics of these kinds of incidents are not good as Adamson and other referees simply don’t sanction players for dissent.
“The accompanying penalty could have been reversed in Munster’s favour, in consideration of the non-carded high tackle,” he added.
“Did that option even cross the ref’s mind? I’ve no idea, but the optics of Farrell getting off scot-free were not good.”
