As a result of a media channel on Instagram, in which referees are targeted, there has been a lot of commotion.
Rugby Netherlands has placed itself behind our referees.
We support this view.
Read our Statement!
There is no sport as complex as rugby.
Ensuring safety, fair play and enjoyment of the game is the first and most important responsibility of our referees during the match on the pitch. Without exception, that deserves to be accepted with admiration, appreciation and gratitude.
Just think about it, 2 times 40 minutes with 30 eager egos who want to go all in. He/she cannot do it without the cooperation and full awareness of this among the players.
Respect, discipline and camaraderie is what binds us all in the beautiful sport called rugby!
That joint responsibility is sometimes forgotten.
There are more and more messages on social media channels, in which referees (and players) are dismissed unworthily and even threatened. We shouldn't want to go that way with rugby in the Netherlands!
It's not for nothing that we in the Netherlands focus on our core values, respect, discipline and camaraderie.
We don't want them to be corrupted by channels in which people can't defend themselves.
One of the unwritten rules in rugby, is that everything is solved on the pitch or during the third half. After that, it has to be done!
In a few cases and exceptionally, there are the disciplinary bodies to settle matters definitively.
No whining or out of resentment, frustration or whatever trying to get your point somewhere or put someone up for sale, where he or she can no longer defend himself.
Not the short gain of being right in the match. Our long-term values and standards, which we all have to defend as rugby players, are at stake here.
Where people take responsibility, they also make mistakes. That's just what being human means. No one is perfect and let's make sure that human dignity remains intact.
Rugby Netherlands has been working with the referees for years on level and training.
After 45 years of rugby, I can confirm that the level has risen sharply. Hats off!
The commitment of our referees means that we can enjoy our sport together every weekend.
A sport that we all work, to get and keep it on the map in the Netherlands with a good image, in which social safety and inclusivity are not empty words.
A sport in which our youth can absorb the community spirit, who contribute to resilience, social-emotional reliance and meaning in the rest of their lives.
To end more philosophically.
Let's guard together the beautiful, the good and the true of our sport.
The beautiful – to do, see and experience the beautiful sport
The good – the core values and sense of community, that can be found in all rugby players around the world
The true – the self-reflection, which contributes in all of us to what we are, what we do and what we don't do
Back to our referees.
In our conviction on behalf of all true rugby lovers in the Netherlands
Leave a Reply