Sport at the crossroads | Club Respect Sport at the crossroads | Club Respect

Sport at the crossroads: Cricket calling stumps on umpire abuse

Whilst umpiring in cricket at the international level is now a high-tech dance of ball tracking technology and player challenges influencing the outcome of decisions, at grassroots level, umpiring the game has remained essentially the same for centuries, with the captains crucial to maintaining the ‘the spirit of the game’ and a code of conduct governing player behaviour that crosses ‘the line’.

Sport at the crossroads: Basketball’s battle against referee abuse

This is Part 6 of our ‘Sport at the crossroads’ series, exploring the way different sports codes and associations are tackling the abuse of officials. Part 1: Football (Soccer) Part 2: Rugby League Part…

Sport at the crossroads: Rugby Union’s timeless tradition of respect for referees

A ‘Hooligans game’ it may appear to some, but despite its physicality and close-quarters gladiatorial combat, these ‘hooligans’ are incredibly respectful to referees. As a result, rugby union is played in a culture of respect for referees that is unmatched in contact sport throughout the world.

Sport at the crossroads: Netball leading the way

The incident begged the question. How did a professional sport get to the stage where respect is so deeply and intrinsically embedded, that criticising an umpire is considered a shock that upends the sport?

Sport at the crossroads: Aussie Rules’ (AFL) path to respect

For some, the lack of umpiring capability is the primary cause of abuse whilst for many, there is a ‘blame culture’ in which the players can make many mistakes in the game but umpires are not afforded the same luxury to make mistakes, learn and grow.

Sport at the crossroads: Rugby League’s cultural shift

Whether we want to believe it or not, so much of how we view the game is by someone telling us how we’re viewing it and seeing it. If the commentators switched to neutrality or positivity, then over a small period of time, people would naturally think positively or neutrally about refereeing.

Sport at the crossroads: Football’s mountain to climb

When a player is ‘working the referee’ according to Hatzoglou, there are two key factors at play. In addition to inviting abuse of the referee from fans who believe they are backing their player, the referee is denied the authentic feedback loop to improve their performance.

Sport’s ugly blind spot – abuse of officials

What drives an otherwise upstanding sports fan to scream abuse at a match official? Or turn an otherwise loving parent into a seething, foaming, resentful ball of fury at an 11-year-old boy who has made a refereeing decision that did not favour their child?