I'm loving all the fantastic comments. There are lots of people saying what they think Football Referees should do. And most of them I agree with. I have made a video with some of the difficulties of being a Football Ref that most people don't realise. I urge you all to take a look and I would love your opinions! ruclips.net/video/4GD6xddGlmU/видео.html
The fans react to what the players get away with. They get away with it so can we. All about authority and facts, not emotion. This is not the referee's faults this is the manager's fault and molly cuddling these players who get paid into the millions. Until there is real penalties for this behaviour - it will continue.
I think it would be cool if you reacted to NHL: Refs Mic'd Up by Jens95, the refs in (ice) hockey are usually respected like in rugby and I'd love to hear your perspective on it on how they go about it.
I have a question, how many referees and assistants are employed to cover a football season? I have just looked and in New Zealand this year there are 30 referees to cover International Matches, Super Rugby, National Provincial Rugby, World Sevens Series, and Farah Palmer Cup (women's rugby competition). It is possibly because there is such a small pool of refs that they are able to build a better relationship with the players, as could be seen in the video, Nigel Owens was on first name terms with many of the players, even those from overseas.
It's baked into us from young. the referee is the arbiter of discipline, his word is final, he is the law. It's a penalisable offence to disrespect his authority.
Also I think that penalties in rugby have more impact than in football. If it is in your part of the field it almost guarantees 3 points to the other team if they decide to kick it + if you argue with the referee they can just decide to move the ball 10 meters toward your goal line, making it even easier for the other team.
@@nielsdegroot9138 No, and that's the biggest problem for me. Rugby referees generally stand their ground. Football referees always back away, which makes the players follow them. Stand your ground. If the player touches you or worse, send them off. I remember Wayne Barnes sending off Dylan Hartley because he called him a cheat.
Thing is it's not just at professional level, it starts at grass roots level and young (and I mean kids) players are brought up in the culture of respect for not just the ref but also other players, opposition included.
One of the many things I love about rugby over football. The good character in everyone involved, with few exceptions. My least favourite thing about rugby is Owen Farrell.
I love both Football and Rugby and I agree football really needs to sort it out, you guys do a great job and you receive such disrespect. In Rugby there is a law (9.28) which is specifically about offences against match officials and in Rugby there is Zero tolerance for abuse to any match official, both physical and verbal and if a player were to "disrespect" the ref it's a yellow card offence (which is a 10 minute time out off the pitch) and I personally think that's something the FA needs to implement into football.
Thanks for the comment! This was my point about Sin Bins that were brought in at the lower level, which has massively helped. But the game only changes when its brought in at the top level. That way kids see it on the TV and they then understand.
It needs to start at grass roots and top leagues to eradicate it. The children see multimillion players do it, them emulate and thus the cycle is perpetual
If referees started enforcing the yellow card for disrespecting the officials, as it is in the laws now, players will adjust. But it needs to be done by all referees.
When I was reffing, we were briefed at one of our training sessions that a club in another part of the country had had 2 ref reports sent to the Union. If a ref got abuse it was always submitted to the Union at national level and not local county, even though they would be copied in. Parents of juniors had given a ref verbal on the Saturday after a cup match and again another parent gave the ref abuse on the Sunday. Both occasions it was under a poster in the tunnel stating the Union's attitude towards respect. The Union summoned the club president and the club captain,for a chat with no tea and biccies about the discipline problem in the club and advised them to change the parents attitude or the Union would. For the rest of the season there were no cards handed out to that club at any level, and the parents were educated on what was expected at all times. Turned out that the kids had just come over at the start of the season from football and the parents thought it was acceptable behaviour.
Nigel Owens is one of the finest and fairest referees in the game and as such he commands the greatest respect from the players. I only wish there were more like him in the game. Thank you for all you have done for the game Nigel.
Nigel Owens is a Welsh man. He is the only referee who has ever been allowed to ref his own nations game because he is that fair of a referee and since he's that fair, that's how he's earned the respect of the players. Everyone knows his name is the best rugby referee to ever ref in rugby. 🏴
@@barmouthbridge8772 yeah he talked about it in his ref segment on world rugby recently too. He gets a good laugh that people think he was making a personal call.
I think it differs from union to league ....union being more public school. League more back street boozer union players treat a ref like a headmaster ..league players are northern public schools less disciplined??
Yup, I played rugby at prep school then public school... if we gobbed off at the ref, we were caned. At my prep school our ref was also our headmaster, and the pitch was right outside his office. He has been known to stop the game, drag the gobby player into his office for a thrashing, then jog back out to restart the game. We were terrified of him then, but I just laugh at it now.
My late husband played rugby union for 25 years so I knew well how rugby referees are respected. From club right up to international level the referee is called sir and their word is law. My husband once got carded in the changing room before the game. The referee said he knew he was going to show him a yellow card at some point so thought he'd get it in early!!!
I’ve always thought that the big difference is that - at all levels - if rugby players don’t retreat after an infringement, the referee simply walks ten yards forward and the penalty is taken from there. Players learn from an early stage - at school - that there’s no point in arguing because it’s going to cost them, and the whole team therefore becomes involved in trying to de-escalate the situation. I’ve often wondered what would happen if football tried a variant of that approach.
For those of us who grew up playing rugby, respect is ingrained. It has always been part of the culture - not just the laws that govern the game. Those laws have themselves evolved. Very rare now are the fist fights of yesterday - it's now mostly handbags. (Have a search on RUclips for the '99 call' for times past!). Rugby is, of its nature, violent. Players can, and do, get badly hurt. Indeed, some have died. I can barely tolerate watching football. The diving and play acting. The almost total lack of respect for the officials. The refs surrounded by abusive players. The fact that it is allowed to continue, demeans and devalues the entire game. I say 'allowed' because the FA could stop this if referees were encouraged and supported to enforce the rules that already exist. If word came from on high that it was not going to be tolerated, followed by booking and sending off offenders - consistently and with active support from the FA, it would change the game. But they won't. It's all about the money. Far, far too much money. This is a link to the 2013 Aviva Premiership final - something akin to the FA Cup final. Dylan Hartley, the Leicester captain, was sent off for calling the ref, Wayne Barnes, a 'fucking cheat'. ruclips.net/video/7x7sSz_Vsi8/видео.html
Well to be fair there is 2 words i wont tollerate when refereeing. Cheat and Cunt. They are straight reds in my book and most other referees. The FA has to be held accountable for making the change in players behaviours.
Completely agree with your post, the F.A. could stamp it out of they had the cahoonas but you're right it's all about the money. I love how every 5 years of so the F.A. come out with "oh how do we get the players to respect the ref like rugby?" Any player that runs up to the ref effing and blinding is automatically given a red and sent off coupled with the player who committed the atrocity is fined a month's wages that goes to a local charity. Harsh? Maybe but I bet it wouldn't take long for it to sink in.
As a Kiwi, I'd say without a doubt the best referee of all time, communication was brilliant,fair to both sides,allowed a free flowing game,never over imposed himself in the game,didnt make the game over technical,and made rugby the centre not the ref. The absolute benchmark of referees and All refs should aspire to be like Nigel.
The shot where we see him on the phone is quite funny ^^ He lost cummunications with the TMO, so somebody brought him a phone to speak with him and everybody thought he was just chatting in the middle of a game.
These rugby players are twice the size and strength of football players but from the very early days of playing rugby you learn, as I did in south Wales as a schoolboy 40 years ago, to respect the referee and opposition. Clapping the opponents after the match is part of the game and the spirit of the game. It begins at that age. The referee is the final word and you respect that. We see with Nigel that even professional players need to be reminded of some of the rules. He is a brilliant referee and man manager.
when I was at school, there was always an applause tunnel for the opposition after the match. I remember one time disagreeing with the ref and got hell from my coach about it after the match... I never did that again.
One word describes rugby - RESPECT. That is respect to everyone - refs, opposition players and supporters, everybody. It is not just the top refs that have that respect it is at all levels. You are taught about it from the moment you start to play. One of the reasons it is, in my opinion, the best sport in the world.
Cards in Rugby: Yellow - 10 minutes in the sin bin, red - early bath and a disciplinary hearing. Yellow is usually for a persistent cynical, but usually not dangerous offence, red is for dangerous play either intentional or unintentional.
I once asked a rugby ref "is there a hook in his changing room to hang his white stick on" he offered me his key and told me I could take 10mins to find out - I said "sorry sir" and quietly walked away
The man with the whistle is God on that pitch. A rugby referee commands respect and gets it. Disrespect gets you 10 mins off the field. Football referees seem to be afraid of using their cards when they are mobbed or disrespected even though the rules allow for it.
They have been on the wrong end of abuse from grassroots football and up. It starts with parents shouting abuse at the referee and just continues as players learn that they can intimidate referees as well. I would be strongly reluctant to use a card if I felt that physical abuse would follow and who has got the referee back? No one.
He's usually talking to so many players at once because a lot of these 'chats' are with the scrum which has 16 players directly involved, plus one scrum-half is waiting to put the ball in.
Within the first twenty seconds or so I was already laughing and feeling sorry for you at the same time 😭😂 “look at them… listening to him,” 😂 the bar is on the ground
A penalty in rugby is far more costly than one in football, and players tend to listen to the ref more in order to minimize penalties. A ref talking to you after an infringement early in the match is super helpful for you as a player to understand how the ref will run the match as well
That’s what I came to say. 20 years of playing mostly Australia. But toured USA, NZ, UK, Ireland and Israel and it’s always been like this. Love the game. Love the players. Love the respect and camaraderie.
8:14 - that's the most respected man in Welsh rugby telling off the second most respected man in Welsh rugby. It's a shame Owens has now retired. One of the reasons I very rarely watch football is simply due to the lack of respect for the referees. I've refereed a different sport (touch rugby), and most of the time the players were respectful enough, and I never had any issues in dealing harshly with players who crossed the line - I sent someone off in my very first competitive game for swearing at me. I don't think I would want to in football because the referees just don't seem to be protected enough. If I refereed football and players argued with me the way that they do, I'd probably get thrown out of the sport for sending everyone off! Football needs to breed more Pierluigi Collinas! Not too many players tried to intimidate him into changing his mind...
I grew up with rugby (South African) and the referee disrespect shown in football is also one of the reasons I could never get into it, that and the diving.
@@RobReacts1 Part of the thinking behind the 99 call in the Lions Tour in SA was not just to stand up to the strong arm tactics of the South Africans. But based on the thinking that the ref couldn’t send off a whole team for fighting and would then reign in the opposing team.
The best example of the origin of disrespect starts in football schools and clubs. At matches when parents and coaches start to insult and say ugly things to the opposing team. Fairplay and respect start in the vocabulary used.
In rugby the ref is there for your protection. That is why they are respected. Having said that I have been reffed by good and bad refs. One was so awful that the two captains agreed to referee the game between them and all the players followed their joint decisions. It was a great game and I suspect the referee learned a lot.
Having been refereed by the man I can honestly say he demands respect without even knowing it! He is more than happy to justify every decision and is very very rare wrong , an absolute stickler for the rules and even more for fair play! Nigel Owens is with out doubt the best union ref the world has ever seen
One very important thing in rugby about the referee respect : the referee can move by 5 meters a fault in favor of the other team if you complain too much. He can do 5-10 meters as many times as he wants if the players are still complaining. In the rugby clubs from the youngest players to the pro level, your coach is telling the respect you need to have for a referee and to shut your mouth when he's talking to you(or your teammates mouth if they are arguing too much)
I've played in a match where the ref marched the opposition 80m, literally from one end of the pitch to the other, because one of their lads wouldn't stfu after they got pinged. I was creased by the half way line
I guess in rugby there’s a little more time available as we stop the clock, maybe that allows more room for a more civilised conversation about the reasons behind a decision. The other nice aspect is the sin bin, where in rugby for a lesser offence a player can be sent off for 10 minutes, such periods can really impact the team on the scoreboard and so you try to avoid it, feels like it works better than a football yellow card to me. Players don’t want to infringe because it hurts their team. It’s a great way to be able to penalise something like dissent. Also for dissent the team can be marched back 10 meters giving the opposing team more advantage on their penalty, again it’s swift and decisive action that has an immediate effect without being over the top. In rugby there are rules that get overlooked by refs and then over time views change and they’re told to start policing a certain aspect more/more stringently. It’s not immediate but but teams soon learn to change behaviour. We’re seeing that a lot at the moment with laws that are deemed to protect the player from head injury, it doesn’t take too long if there is a will to change. If football wanted to change behaviours in this space it could do I think You also marvel why players will stop and listen - probably cos it also gives them chance for a breather!
Its nothing to do with those things although they contribute to a players conduct/choice on the field - it's a simple matter that as a rugby player, you are taught from a very young age to respect the referee and their decisions. Its really that simple. It is coached into you it is expected and it is not tolerated. Refs are protected by rugby law. If the FA/FIFA/governing bodies enforced a "respect" law, then football would be a changed game, but sadly they don't support football referees, who are verbally abused on a regular basis. And so actually, football tacitly condones this sort of behaviour - by not dealing with it - and quite frankly, I find it despicable and always have. The governing football bodies have ruined the beautiful game
Apart from the fundamental value of respect mentioned by others, another factor to take into account is that refs' judgement and enforcement , while within the structure of laws, is still subjective and so very small advantages may be gained from playing to the ref. So any glimpse into the ref's reasoning is very valuable - hence the listening you see.
Simple way to do it.The ref walks into a football teams dressing room before the game and ask's "would the captain please stand up" Captain stands up and the ref points to the captain and says "this is the only person who can question my decisions,anyone else wants shoot their mouth off and the cards come out." Games might end up 4 Vs 3 to begin with but players will get the message if this is done at all levels.
I will have to do another video soon, but sadly as a referee we cant do that. Players would lose their shit and make the game so tough. Plus its the fact that clubs give referees a score out of 100 after the game. If they give you a low mark it can ruin your promotion if your going for one. The system is a joke and all referees know it!
Nigel Owens is one of the best when he interacts with players and his jokes. One of of his famous quotes is "That throw was straighter than I am". You have to know a little about Nigel Owens to get that one. One of my favorites is with a player "Bakkies" (many South African players have nicknames, and nobody knows "Bakkies Botha's" real name, he is even listed on the team sheet as Bakkies). Bakkies translated means a "bowl" like a salad bowl. Bakkies was given this nickname when he was a small boy with big ears. A common nickname in South Africa for little boys with big ears. The funny part is when an International ref ask Bakkies, who is over 2 meters tall and weights about 120 kg, "What is your problem? Don't you have ears?"
If the ref isn’t allowed to control a game of Rugby it becomes dangerous, that’s why discipline is drummed into Rugby players from an early age. Also it’s a much more tiring game than football so you’re glad of a breather when the ref blows up, you don’t talk back, you literally save your breath for the next play.
Thanks for this video, it just showed up on my recommended and I was very interested to hear your opinion. You're right, Nigel Owens is one of the greats
I think the thing is that the guys who play rugby know that if they don't take the ref's advice, they're just going to continue to give away stupid penalties and they know what not to do. There's also a strong safety issue involved as well. Nigel Owens himself has pointed out that his role was to help the game run smoothly and to help the players enjoy themselves. Nothing more than that. Nigel really should be knighted. Absolute legend of the game.
I’m Welsh, we lost to England in the World Cup quarterfinals in Brisbane in 2003, we were devastated to lose to our biggest rivals, but we all had a drink and laugh in the pubs afterwards it was a great atmosphere.I can’t imagine this happening too often in football.
Respect is earned. You earn respect through communication. The one referee I truly respect from my local non-league days was not the one making the most correct calls. It is the one who came up to me in half time, saying: "I should have given you a free kick over there, sorry about that." I hadn't complained, but it was important for him to admit a mistake.
I agree. Referees make mistake. One that I always admit to is when i dont know who the ball last came off for a throw or behind the goal line. I will always be honest and say we will go defensive.
I ref for a few years and I can only one game where a player answered back a Dinnington player who apparently was an ex footballer he got 10 min to cool down
Great reaction, just subscribed. Nice to hear it from a football ref perspective. As someone who played both I can't stand the abuse refs (and linesmen) in football get especially low low low down at my level!
Nice video man! I'll give some thoughts as a rugby fan as to where I think some of the respect comes from. When you start playing at school they dont introduce a lot of the laws ie lifting at the lineouts until you hit certain ages. But as you get to about 14 and you're playing the full game the ref becomes the guy that keeps you safe, as well as often teaching you laws. Youll see this in big pro games too but I once was playing a the ref dived into a scrum to hold this kid's neck still as he fell badly on his neck, as well as many other events like that. So, I can only imagine every school kid playing has similar refs that help you play hard safely. Also, from a young age, we consistently had refs that would come into the changing room before the game and explain only the captains would be allowed to speak to them, which seems annoying but its why there's respect- there's a clear chain of communication. You have to ask you captain to ask the ref to watch out for X thing the opposition are doing or ask why X pen was given, it's a lot harder for players to show disrespect to their own captain lol. Having said that we had some shockers too but I think that the ref having that extra job of keeping you safe really makes a difference.
Thanks for your comment. Means a lot to get well thought out comments. I did a video yesterday as to why its hard to be a football referee. take a look if it interests you. ruclips.net/video/4GD6xddGlmU/видео.html
I played rugby in New Zealand at schoolboy and club level. If a refs decision went against you were allowed to ask why. If you argued aggressively you would be sent off and would possibly not be allowed to play for several weeks. I enjoy watching soccer, but I wish this rule would apply in soccer. It could solve some problems
I don’t watch Rugby but I just love watching these referee clips. I have tried refereeing when I was studying in high school for those leisure student games and I tried imitate Nigel Owens, to a varying degree of success. The cultivated sense of respect from grassroots level, to the transparency through broadcasting referees’ conversations certainly increased the status of the referees. Of course in football there are differences and limitations such as it is much harder to ask both captains for a chat if the skippers are Neuer and Lloris, football does not have the option for the ref to stop the clock in case of a lengthy disruption due to injury of VAR check, and it is expected to be a flowing game. One final thing that I’d like to add is that Nigel has many facets and tools to deal with a situation, from being stern headmaster to his one-liners like ‘I’m straighter than that one’. Not just hugely effective to get messages a cross while having some good humour that made him popular, he must have a thick skin like stand-up comedians that would take things personal and get angered so easily. Nigel is such a character in the rugby world, loved by so many saying that if their teams are playing against Wales, they wouldn’t mind if Nigel is in charge! After his retirement he is still active on RUclips with the series ‘Whistle Watch with Nigel Owens’ where he provides insight to the latest refereeing decisions, as well as his post-retirement life, really worth following!
I feel that it could be easily solved by taking a similar approach as rugby. Only the captains can speak to the ref. Everyone else does not speak to the ref unless spoken to.
From a rugby player/fan perspective, we're raised to respect the ref's from day one. That said, a few simple laws added to the "beautiful" game could help it - things along the lines of: 1) Only a captain can approach the ref, other players must be called by the ref (if a player wants word they should get their captain to approach ref to ask for it, no swarming) 2) Captains are responsible for their team - Ref tells captain, captain MUST tell team. If a ref tells a captain to sort his team out and they don't, the captain can be penalised. 3) Disrespect/Arguing can get you booked - THAT is how rugby referees feel... you argue with them, you get sent for an early shower. Football is more "spread out" than rugby, so you might need something like captain and deputy, both allowed to approach ref/act on behalf, so you have forward & back reps, but yeah... you get the idea. Big problem football has is the culture of it being OK to diss, ignore, swarm and argue with the ref. If the players don't respect the ref, how can you expect the fans to?
Players are big and the game is brutal. Just like in martial arts, people would suffer serious consequences if they did not have respect for each other and the rules. Players know that a good ref is the thin line between a good game and a bloody fight.
also from the very start in Rugby it is drilled in to players no arguing with the refs. Players would soon be dismissed if theytried what footballers do
Respect for the referee and their decision whomever they are at whatever level the game is played is a fundamental basic taught from under 7’s.. The mobile phone clip was when the radios went down between the Mr Owens and the TMO (Video ref) so the team ran out a phone to him so that the correct info could be given. Also in top flight matches when a decision goes to the TMO (VAR for football) or comes from the TMO in the case of foul play etc the replays are shown to everyone on the big screens. The ref, players and fans get to see ALL the angles in slow motion and real time - as the clock stops there’s no issue with lost time. Fans then get to understand the decision whether it is for or against their team.
When I've called both teams together for 'a chat' I made sure the goalkeeper was included. In hockey the is massively padded up. On occasion I was thanked by a goalie as he would say he was getting frozen standing on the goal-line! It gave them the chance to warm up.
Rugby - a thugs game played by gentleman, football a gentleman's game played by thugs, if a rugby ref was 2 ref a football game they'd all be sent off as soon as they spoke back, must be all that money that clogs their ears
I played Sunday league football years ago and the ref also covered rugby games. Fairest ref we had and the respect from everyone was obvious. Respect can be bred into the game and the officials need to adopt a cooperative approach. It feels very them versus us.
It's an involvement from every spect of the game. When I started playing as a kid, the ref was god, and you did what he said, when he said it. If you argued once, you were marched back 10m each time until you shut up. If that happened, you had 14 other team mates to deal with. Now I coach the same thing as a mini's coach. I also tell the parents on the touchline the same thing. If football ref's agreed a no-tolerance to arguing before the game, and marched them 10m towards the goal, they'd quickly shut up.
Well this is the reason sin bins should be introduced up to a higher level in football. I referee at county level and sin bins make a huge difference. Still abuse but massively cut down!
Imagine Nigel Owens switched over to football Ref he just shoved me on my back Nigel:do you think you might need a chiropractor? I met a really good one from Samoa
Sir, if it was an adult, or Mr Ref, if it was a senior or Uni level referee was how we were taught to address the ref across all sports at school level
I'd guess because of the bad language used by footballers. During matches, rugby players will use bad language, and during lockdown matches, you can pick it up on the pitchside microphones. From day one of playing rugby respect for the ref and the language used is cemented into you. I was once sin-binned for raising my eyes to the ref after a decision he made.
the difference is in rugby your taught to respect the referees, and its not just for the refs you play 80 minutes hating the opposition and maybe even fight with them but after the game you shake hands eat food together as both teams and have pint together and have a laugh and a joke. its just respect and being a sportsman
Lots of ways this can be achieved, one is the referee only speaking to the captain. In rugby players can talk to the referee, but typically the referee will only entertain the odd question here or there, it's the captain who they will speak to. This stops 30 people all trying to talk to the referee..
In rugby, you never question the referee, unless you you’re looking for 10 minutes in the sin bin. His word is final, and he is always addressed with respect. Nigel is being polite with ‘you don’t need to call me sir..’ but actually they do and should. He is in charge of the game and in charge of proceedings on the field.
One of my best friends is a Rugby referee, and he always says that the players do not know most of the rules of the game as there are so many. So you often have to take the time to explain to them what they have done wrong. I think it also helps that Rugby has more flexibility to penalize players other than just simple yellows or reds.
A couple of super important things for rugby. 1) when the ref wants, he can stop the clock, so he has all the time in the world to explain his decisions to players. 2) the ref is FULLY within his right to penalise and even sinbin/send off players who argue with him. There is no worse feeling than going back to the changing room and your team mates yelling at you because the ref pushed you back 10m or even gave the other team a penalty because you were running your mouth. and 3) i think the technicality of the game means that many players aren't able to argue because they dont know the exact rules themselves. Owens is know for knowing everything about every rule of rugby and so if you argue with him, you better be sure you know everything as well otherwise he will simply quote the exact rule to you, and send you back to your team. and 4) most often the ref will talk to the captains, and the captains relay the message to their team. This creates a sort of chain of command, and the captains have earn't the right to talk with the ref, and the last thing they want is to piss him off, because they represent their whole side, and if the captain annoys the ref they can get sent off, or they can make the ref penalise their team heavily for every penalty they commit.
there's also one thing that (growing up with football) was a major difference to me - the referee constantly talks to the players *before* they commit a foul if possible telling them for example to back off or something. So the refs are already part of the game and already communicate with the players - not just when a foul happened. This gives a different integration into the game.
@@forchtsengar6071 thats very true. The largely horizontal motion of rugby mixed with pauses in movement from rucks etc does mean the ref is far more involved. American football with 3-5 refs on the field (not including linesmen) is a good way to go imo
Respect is what it is. Simple as that. I'm a rugby league fan (St Helens) but I do enjoy watching Union at international level. There's always a debate on which code is best, completely different games in my opinion but what they do have in common is the respect for the referee and the game. They listen, accept the call and move on. Even fans, we go to Magic Weekend and mix with rival fans and drink together and make friends. It's the same with Union. Rugby is a fantastic sport on the field and off and the respect on the field between the players and the referee is a fine example of how to play sport.
I’ve done that once in my refereeing career in football, I called the whole team in, and had a firm word. It worked, but there’s always one isn’t there:
Speaking to the captains is standard practice in rugby, there is an unwritten rule that only captains speak directly to the ref unless a ref has called a player over. As a player, if you have an issue or question you speak to your captain to raise with the ref.
After a 100 caps for refereeing international games , he got to know many of the international players over the years and was on first name terms with many of them, and they respected him and his decisions.
The rules of the game also help the rugby referee. He can send someone off for 10 minutes, he can give a penalty for decent and move it back 10m if players complain or don't respond quickly enough. Those rules create peer pressure on individuals to behave. Over and above that is the background of the players and discipline drilled into them at school.
I think the main reasons are. 1. Rugby is more open to interpretation than football. The rugby players have to listen to the ref otherwise they will give penalties away. 2. Penalties are worth a lot more than in football (outside the box of course). Many many games are won just by grinding an opposition down until they give a penalty away and then kicking the three points. 3. The ref has really easy ways of substantially punishing disrespect in a sliding scale. He can move the penalty forward 10m, which makes a big difference to how easy the three points are. Also makes you run 10m quickly as you are out of position and your defence isn't set. Also the yellow card is 10mins in the sin bin, in football a yellow card does nothing until it becomes red so the punishment is either nothing or too much. The ref can even give a penalty try (which is what should happen in football when Suarez saves the ball). 4. Lastly it's cultural. Some football fans operate under the delusion that screaming their tiny heads off is their God given right at, and only at, a football match.
I think one of the key things in rugby is the fact that you can stop the clock. So you have time to speak to the players and explain the rules (there are oh so many). Also Rugby has a history of using technology to make decisions, replays are shown on the big screen etc. So players rarely need to go to the ref for anything because it's all being looked at. Also the nature of the game is such that penalties (think free kicks) and yellow cards (10 minutes out) determine the outcome of a vast majority the games. So it's never in a player's interest to antagonize the ref in anyway. One of the factors in choosing a team captain is their ability to speak to the ref. Despite the laws, refs still have some freedom to impose their will and a smart captain knows how to keep the ref on their side.
Nothing against your profession Rob, Nigel I class as one of Rugbys top referees and it is such a shame he has just retired from doing internationals when he achieved the heady heights of 100 caps. When the union world was here 6 years ago he received the most deserved honour of referee of the year. The points you raised were absolutley right, he commands the respect the players in the ways you said and also different from football because for the 80 minutes the games is live what the officials says goes and they are the law, rugby officials are more respected than yourselves because it is more of a gentlemanly sport. Also his man management skills are second to none, I believe in the (18 years he was top tier level referee) he has changed virtually single handedly apart from Wayne Barnes, Ben Thaler and Ben Whitehouse the way the refs have to referee the game. They are top men because there reputation proceeds them from there way of letting the game flow more instead of as I think you said it constantly being stop/start rugby. Maybe if you can find any footage as I know you've looked at Wayne Barnes, look at Ben Thaler(he is a Rugby League ref) and Ben Whitehouse. Maybe you could start a revolution in how football refereed like these gents have with Rugby. Thank you for the video.
Cheers for your comment Justin. I massively appreciate it. I have a video going up tomorrow at 4pm of a rugby ref compilation. The video is about 25mins long but i talk a lot about each individual clip and relate most of them to football. Was a really interesting and enjoyable video to do!
In rugby the referee commands great respect, any backchat and a player can be penalised, but none moreso than this great man, he is so impartial that he could referee a Wales match. In one clip he tells off the Welsh national captain Alun Wyn Jones. Him being Welsh is just a bonus.
As a rugby fan, I really love how respect is one of the most important values of the sport. They can be hitting real hard during the game, there'll always be respect between the players, and even more for the referee. A great rule of rugby that could be applied to football as well is that the referee can give penalties in case of contestations, or players talking too much. And if the penalty is already against them, they can make it harsher (usually the penalty is 10m closer to the goalline). That gives the referee a real figure of authority, and allows them to have real discussions with players, as they know they have no interest of attacking the referee.
@@RobReacts1 I used to watch football occasionally when I was younger, but I don't do it anymore, and that's partially due to the fact a lot of players don't respect the referee, or even the game sometimes... for example when they simulate or try to exagerate a fault. Rugby referees have a very close look at that, and it really has a bad reputation in the fanbase.
The problem is that rugby was classed as a gentleman’s game and from the very start rules were laid down to give the referee complete respect, he is there to help you win simple as that....Nigel has had respect from his very first game where he placed his rules on the pitch....he’s done this job long enough to have built up the names of most players, being called by your name on pitch shows respect to player and game.
Players know that they have to play the game within the rules and in the spirit of the game. Most games under his control become fast free running matches which is why all the top teams would have had him as a ref every time.
Nigel is a referee that is in control, but not THE control. he understands that the game is paramount and the rules must be adhered to. he also realizes that there are gentlemen playing a gangster game and sometimes a word to the wise is all that is needed.
i think that the main thing is that the respect is given from the earliest age. Couch, players even the parents of the kids respect the referee. Also the added thing is that in rugby you can stop time and explain. The possibility of being send of for 10 minutes is quite a big deterrent.
With the mobile phone, he was talking to the TMO (Rugby's VAR). He mentioned it the other day in one of his videos. The voice link wasn't working so he had to dial it in!
I think that one of the reasons rugby players are respectful to the ref, is because at one point most if not all of the top players were university educated and in theory members of polite society and that just filtered down the levels.
I played for 22 tears, and had team-mates who dug ditches for gas pipes, Doctors, Army officers, Farmers and bricklayers. Everyone is equal. You are all just a member of that team. The team trusts the Captain, and the Captain works with the officials. I would like to see the sin-bin for a yellow in Football, particularly for attempting to intimidate the referee. You do not touch the ref. If you assault a ref, it's a lifetime ban, However, I do think that there is a place in Football for retired forwards, who could be usefully employed to come onto the field when there is an outbreak of 'theatricals', and tread on the offender with regulation 1.25" aluminium studs until they get up. I would be ideally suited at 6'5" and 250lbs. :)
@@KBJ58 True, I played for 15ish years and found that my teammates were from all walks of life. One incident that happened in a game I was involved in, was that a player did a bit of 'theatrics' to feign injury and the next time he got hit he was carried off.
Rugby referees have effective tools in their armoury! Talk back = free kick to opposition or, if free kick already awarded, free kick moves ten meters upfield. Or there's always yellow cards (off field for ten minutes).
I recall years ago when Hull City met Hull KR in a final at Wembley. The supporters historically HATE each other. Before, during and after the match there was no trouble at all. The fans didn't even need to be seperated and were even mixed in the stands. Can't imagine that happening at a football match.
It's worth noting in rugby the captain is allowed to talk to the referee(within reason), so you will see some clips of backchat(Christopher! Was England's captain at the time)
I'm loving all the fantastic comments. There are lots of people saying what they think Football Referees should do. And most of them I agree with. I have made a video with some of the difficulties of being a Football Ref that most people don't realise. I urge you all to take a look and I would love your opinions! ruclips.net/video/4GD6xddGlmU/видео.html
The fans react to what the players get away with. They get away with it so can we. All about authority and facts, not emotion.
This is not the referee's faults this is the manager's fault and molly cuddling these players who get paid into the millions.
Until there is real penalties for this behaviour - it will continue.
@@casperwallace9685 I don't disagree buddy! 😊
I think it would be cool if you reacted to NHL: Refs Mic'd Up by Jens95, the refs in (ice) hockey are usually respected like in rugby and I'd love to hear your perspective on it on how they go about it.
@@jpbreeze44 it's just made the list! 😋
I have a question, how many referees and assistants are employed to cover a football season?
I have just looked and in New Zealand this year there are 30 referees to cover International Matches, Super Rugby, National Provincial Rugby, World Sevens Series, and Farah Palmer Cup (women's rugby competition).
It is possibly because there is such a small pool of refs that they are able to build a better relationship with the players, as could be seen in the video, Nigel Owens was on first name terms with many of the players, even those from overseas.
1:01 Crooked Line out “I’m straighter than that one”. What a legend 😂
That is even more funny now that he came out.
@@Wagenmeister did he say that before he came out?
@@niallcnoc9646 Hi, no I'm not sure. Just saw a video of him where he talked about saying it.
@@Wagenmeister nigel owens came out in 2007
He came out quite a few years ago, certainly well before that clip
It’s basic respect that is taught when we’re playing under12s. Only the captain speaks to the referee, the rest of us just listen.
It's baked into us from young. the referee is the arbiter of discipline, his word is final, he is the law. It's a penalisable offence to disrespect his authority.
Also I think that penalties in rugby have more impact than in football. If it is in your part of the field it almost guarantees 3 points to the other team if they decide to kick it + if you argue with the referee they can just decide to move the ball 10 meters toward your goal line, making it even easier for the other team.
Absolutely - rule 1 - the ref is right. Rule 2 - if the ref is wrong, you didn't understand rule 1
Also, the captain should be the only one to speak to the ref if there’s an issue
In football it's also an offence to disrespect the referee. But I don't think I've ever seen a referee enforce that rule.
@@nielsdegroot9138 No, and that's the biggest problem for me. Rugby referees generally stand their ground. Football referees always back away, which makes the players follow them. Stand your ground. If the player touches you or worse, send them off. I remember Wayne Barnes sending off Dylan Hartley because he called him a cheat.
7:24 - The phone call was to the TMO for a review, as his microphone / headphone was faulty.
The phone call said, 'We've been trying to contact you about your car's extended warranty..'
i though he was calling home to ask whats for dinner
**FX Thick Indian Accent**... "This is Steven from Microsoft Technical Services. Your computer is infected with a virus".
@@davidanderson4091 Holy shit!! Lmao hilarious. Classic...
@@davidanderson4091 I cannot understand how this comment has just 7 likes after a month. Legendary.
Thing is it's not just at professional level, it starts at grass roots level and young (and I mean kids) players are brought up in the culture of respect for not just the ref but also other players, opposition included.
One of the many things I love about rugby over football. The good character in everyone involved, with few exceptions. My least favourite thing about rugby is Owen Farrell.
I love both Football and Rugby and I agree football really needs to sort it out, you guys do a great job and you receive such disrespect. In Rugby there is a law (9.28) which is specifically about offences against match officials and in Rugby there is Zero tolerance for abuse to any match official, both physical and verbal and if a player were to "disrespect" the ref it's a yellow card offence (which is a 10 minute time out off the pitch) and I personally think that's something the FA needs to implement into football.
Thanks for the comment! This was my point about Sin Bins that were brought in at the lower level, which has massively helped. But the game only changes when its brought in at the top level. That way kids see it on the TV and they then understand.
Agreed
It needs to start at grass roots and top leagues to eradicate it.
The children see multimillion players do it, them emulate and thus the cycle is perpetual
@@Downtimehunters exactly. The kids copy the top professionals. So it needs to change at the top for the next generation to see things differently!
If referees started enforcing the yellow card for disrespecting the officials, as it is in the laws now, players will adjust. But it needs to be done by all referees.
As a South African, we have great respect for Nigel Owens, he's spot on and very fair. Damned best referee ever.
Nigel Owens is one of the top referees but the respect is throughout the levels.
Nigel Owens is not one of the top referees, he's the top referee ever without a doubt stay safe.
I used to play club rugby back home, I got scolded by a ref, 15yrs my junior one time... didn't even dream of talking back to the kid.
When I was reffing, we were briefed at one of our training sessions that a club in another part of the country had had 2 ref reports sent to the Union. If a ref got abuse it was always submitted to the Union at national level and not local county, even though they would be copied in. Parents of juniors had given a ref verbal on the Saturday after a cup match and again another parent gave the ref abuse on the Sunday. Both occasions it was under a poster in the tunnel stating the Union's attitude towards respect. The Union summoned the club president and the club captain,for a chat with no tea and biccies about the discipline problem in the club and advised them to change the parents attitude or the Union would. For the rest of the season there were no cards handed out to that club at any level, and the parents were educated on what was expected at all times. Turned out that the kids had just come over at the start of the season from football and the parents thought it was acceptable behaviour.
"with no tea and biccies" haha. Iv been going on a journey, so lots more rugby videos on the channel since this one! Im learning a lot!
Nigel Owens is one of the finest and fairest referees in the game and as such he commands the greatest respect from the players. I only wish there were more like him in the game. Thank you for all you have done for the game Nigel.
As you can see from all my rugby videos since this, I wish we had someone like him in football;
Nigel Owens is a Welsh man. He is the only referee who has ever been allowed to ref his own nations game because he is that fair of a referee and since he's that fair, that's how he's earned the respect of the players. Everyone knows his name is the best rugby referee to ever ref in rugby. 🏴
Where he used the phone its because his earpiece for TMO wasn't working the equivalent to VAR .
Oh right. You wont see that very often! :D
@@RobReacts1 he explained it on Jonathan Davies' Welsh rugby programme a week ago.
@@barmouthbridge8772 yeah he talked about it in his ref segment on world rugby recently too. He gets a good laugh that people think he was making a personal call.
Respect for the referee is taught right at school level. These man mountains, listen then and they listen when professionals.
The discipline needs to start at the top level for kids to then see it on tv for example in football.
I think it differs from union to league ....union being more public school. League more back street boozer union players treat a ref like a headmaster ..league players are northern public schools less disciplined??
Yup, I played rugby at prep school then public school... if we gobbed off at the ref, we were caned. At my prep school our ref was also our headmaster, and the pitch was right outside his office. He has been known to stop the game, drag the gobby player into his office for a thrashing, then jog back out to restart the game. We were terrified of him then, but I just laugh at it now.
My late husband played rugby union for 25 years so I knew well how rugby referees are respected. From club right up to international level the referee is called sir and their word is law. My husband once got carded in the changing room before the game. The referee said he knew he was going to show him a yellow card at some point so thought he'd get it in early!!!
I’ve always thought that the big difference is that - at all levels - if rugby players don’t retreat after an infringement, the referee simply walks ten yards forward and the penalty is taken from there. Players learn from an early stage - at school - that there’s no point in arguing because it’s going to cost them, and the whole team therefore becomes involved in trying to de-escalate the situation. I’ve often wondered what would happen if football tried a variant of that approach.
Football is a gentleman’s game played by thugs.
Rugby is a thugs game played by gentlemen.
Love what you said here. be safe 🏴
For those of us who grew up playing rugby, respect is ingrained. It has always been part of the culture - not just the laws that govern the game. Those laws have themselves evolved. Very rare now are the fist fights of yesterday - it's now mostly handbags. (Have a search on RUclips for the '99 call' for times past!). Rugby is, of its nature, violent. Players can, and do, get badly hurt. Indeed, some have died.
I can barely tolerate watching football. The diving and play acting. The almost total lack of respect for the officials. The refs surrounded by abusive players. The fact that it is allowed to continue, demeans and devalues the entire game. I say 'allowed' because the FA could stop this if referees were encouraged and supported to enforce the rules that already exist. If word came from on high that it was not going to be tolerated, followed by booking and sending off offenders - consistently and with active support from the FA, it would change the game. But they won't. It's all about the money. Far, far too much money.
This is a link to the 2013 Aviva Premiership final - something akin to the FA Cup final. Dylan Hartley, the Leicester captain, was sent off for calling the ref, Wayne Barnes, a 'fucking cheat'. ruclips.net/video/7x7sSz_Vsi8/видео.html
Well to be fair there is 2 words i wont tollerate when refereeing. Cheat and Cunt. They are straight reds in my book and most other referees. The FA has to be held accountable for making the change in players behaviours.
In a nutshell
Completely agree with your post, the F.A. could stamp it out of they had the cahoonas but you're right it's all about the money. I love how every 5 years of so the F.A. come out with "oh how do we get the players to respect the ref like rugby?" Any player that runs up to the ref effing and blinding is automatically given a red and sent off coupled with the player who committed the atrocity is fined a month's wages that goes to a local charity. Harsh? Maybe but I bet it wouldn't take long for it to sink in.
As a Kiwi, I'd say without a doubt the best referee of all time, communication was brilliant,fair to both sides,allowed a free flowing game,never over imposed himself in the game,didnt make the game over technical,and made rugby the centre not the ref. The absolute benchmark of referees and All refs should aspire to be like Nigel.
11:03 "off you go before i change the color of it" one of my favourites
IV used similar line in football 🤣
The shot where we see him on the phone is quite funny ^^ He lost cummunications with the TMO, so somebody brought him a phone to speak with him and everybody thought he was just chatting in the middle of a game.
Yea it certainly just looks like his mate has given him a call! :D
These rugby players are twice the size and strength of football players but from the very early days of playing rugby you learn, as I did in south Wales as a schoolboy 40 years ago, to respect the referee and opposition. Clapping the opponents after the match is part of the game and the spirit of the game. It begins at that age. The referee is the final word and you respect that. We see with Nigel that even professional players need to be reminded of some of the rules. He is a brilliant referee and man manager.
when I was at school, there was always an applause tunnel for the opposition after the match. I remember one time disagreeing with the ref and got hell from my coach about it after the match... I never did that again.
One word describes rugby - RESPECT. That is respect to everyone - refs, opposition players and supporters, everybody. It is not just the top refs that have that respect it is at all levels. You are taught about it from the moment you start to play. One of the reasons it is, in my opinion, the best sport in the world.
If only i wasnt flattened at school by a huge boy, maybe i would have been more interested in the sport! :)
"I'm straighter than that one" says Nigel of the line out throw in........brilliant referee with great rapport and sense of humour
Cards in Rugby: Yellow - 10 minutes in the sin bin, red - early bath and a disciplinary hearing. Yellow is usually for a persistent cynical, but usually not dangerous offence, red is for dangerous play either intentional or unintentional.
I once asked a rugby ref "is there a hook in his changing room to hang his white stick on" he offered me his key and told me I could take 10mins to find out - I said "sorry sir" and quietly walked away
haha thats brilliant!
"players are idiots" your now part of the 1% smartest people to watch the game, very underrated piece of info
As a football referee, we all know that footballers are idiots :D
The man with the whistle is God on that pitch. A rugby referee commands respect and gets it. Disrespect gets you 10 mins off the field. Football referees seem to be afraid of using their cards when they are mobbed or disrespected even though the rules allow for it.
They have been on the wrong end of abuse from grassroots football and up. It starts with parents shouting abuse at the referee and just continues as players learn that they can intimidate referees as well. I would be strongly reluctant to use a card if I felt that physical abuse would follow and who has got the referee back? No one.
I would love to see the yellow card equals ten minutes in the sin bin introduced into football. It would quickly sort a lot of the problems out.
He's usually talking to so many players at once because a lot of these 'chats' are with the scrum which has 16 players directly involved, plus one scrum-half is waiting to put the ball in.
Within the first twenty seconds or so I was already laughing and feeling sorry for you at the same time 😭😂 “look at them… listening to him,” 😂 the bar is on the ground
Haha I've learnt a lot since this video and can say I'm now a rugby fan (both codes).
A penalty in rugby is far more costly than one in football, and players tend to listen to the ref more in order to minimize penalties. A ref talking to you after an infringement early in the match is super helpful for you as a player to understand how the ref will run the match as well
Most Rugby ref'
s are treated like that, never seen one treated any differently. Always had to call him Sir. Always respected the referee.
That’s what I came to say. 20 years of playing mostly Australia. But toured USA, NZ, UK, Ireland and Israel and it’s always been like this. Love the game. Love the players. Love the respect and camaraderie.
8:14 - that's the most respected man in Welsh rugby telling off the second most respected man in Welsh rugby.
It's a shame Owens has now retired.
One of the reasons I very rarely watch football is simply due to the lack of respect for the referees. I've refereed a different sport (touch rugby), and most of the time the players were respectful enough, and I never had any issues in dealing harshly with players who crossed the line - I sent someone off in my very first competitive game for swearing at me. I don't think I would want to in football because the referees just don't seem to be protected enough. If I refereed football and players argued with me the way that they do, I'd probably get thrown out of the sport for sending everyone off! Football needs to breed more Pierluigi Collinas! Not too many players tried to intimidate him into changing his mind...
That's the problem, you can't just send people off or they kick off more. And in the end you will get in trouble with your local FA.
I grew up with rugby (South African) and the referee disrespect shown in football is also one of the reasons I could never get into it, that and the diving.
@@RobReacts1 Part of the thinking behind the 99 call in the Lions Tour in SA was not just to stand up to the strong arm tactics of the South Africans. But based on the thinking that the ref couldn’t send off a whole team for fighting and would then reign in the opposing team.
Yep, I referee Touch as well. Any dissent or foul language is an instant forced sub.
The best example of the origin of disrespect starts in football schools and clubs. At matches when parents and coaches start to insult and say ugly things to the opposing team. Fairplay and respect start in the vocabulary used.
In rugby the ref is there for your protection. That is why they are respected. Having said that I have been reffed by good and bad refs. One was so awful that the two captains agreed to referee the game between them and all the players followed their joint decisions. It was a great game and I suspect the referee learned a lot.
Having been refereed by the man I can honestly say he demands respect without even knowing it! He is more than happy to justify every decision and is very very rare wrong , an absolute stickler for the rules and even more for fair play! Nigel Owens is with out doubt the best union ref the world has ever seen
One very important thing in rugby about the referee respect : the referee can move by 5 meters a fault in favor of the other team if you complain too much. He can do 5-10 meters as many times as he wants if the players are still complaining.
In the rugby clubs from the youngest players to the pro level, your coach is telling the respect you need to have for a referee and to shut your mouth when he's talking to you(or your teammates mouth if they are arguing too much)
I've played in a match where the ref marched the opposition 80m, literally from one end of the pitch to the other, because one of their lads wouldn't stfu after they got pinged. I was creased by the half way line
@@waleseggmundo Yeah the ref is usually like "you still complain, 10m... Keep doing it? 10m " and so on. You have to shut your mouth and accept
I guess in rugby there’s a little more time available as we stop the clock, maybe that allows more room for a more civilised conversation about the reasons behind a decision. The other nice aspect is the sin bin, where in rugby for a lesser offence a player can be sent off for 10 minutes, such periods can really impact the team on the scoreboard and so you try to avoid it, feels like it works better than a football yellow card to me. Players don’t want to infringe because it hurts their team. It’s a great way to be able to penalise something like dissent. Also for dissent the team can be marched back 10 meters giving the opposing team more advantage on their penalty, again it’s swift and decisive action that has an immediate effect without being over the top. In rugby there are rules that get overlooked by refs and then over time views change and they’re told to start policing a certain aspect more/more stringently. It’s not immediate but but teams soon learn to change behaviour. We’re seeing that a lot at the moment with laws that are deemed to protect the player from head injury, it doesn’t take too long if there is a will to change.
If football wanted to change behaviours in this space it could do I think
You also marvel why players will stop and listen - probably cos it also gives them chance for a breather!
Its nothing to do with those things although they contribute to a players conduct/choice on the field - it's a simple matter that as a rugby player, you are taught from a very young age to respect the referee and their decisions. Its really that simple. It is coached into you it is expected and it is not tolerated. Refs are protected by rugby law. If the FA/FIFA/governing bodies enforced a "respect" law, then football would be a changed game, but sadly they don't support football referees, who are verbally abused on a regular basis. And so actually, football tacitly condones this sort of behaviour - by not dealing with it - and quite frankly, I find it despicable and always have. The governing football bodies have ruined the beautiful game
Being the only Rugby player/follower in a football mad family, the differences in both players and supporters is night and day.
Oh i completely agree!
Apart from the fundamental value of respect mentioned by others, another factor to take into account is that refs' judgement and enforcement , while within the structure of laws, is still subjective and so very small advantages may be gained from playing to the ref. So any glimpse into the ref's reasoning is very valuable - hence the listening you see.
In rugby, doesn’t metter how big you are, referee decision is absolute. It show lot of respect and love
He was speaking to the TMO, there was a breakdown in common between the TMO & Ref
Football is a gentlemen's sport played by rowdies; Rugby is a rowdie's sport played by gentlemen.
Simple way to do it.The ref walks into a football teams dressing room before the game and ask's "would the captain please stand up"
Captain stands up and the ref points to the captain and says "this is the only person who can question my decisions,anyone else wants shoot their mouth off and the cards come out."
Games might end up 4 Vs 3 to begin with but players will get the message if this is done at all levels.
I will have to do another video soon, but sadly as a referee we cant do that. Players would lose their shit and make the game so tough. Plus its the fact that clubs give referees a score out of 100 after the game. If they give you a low mark it can ruin your promotion if your going for one. The system is a joke and all referees know it!
@@RobReacts1 Then I feel really sorry for yourself and all other football refs.The F.A should hang their heads in shame.
@@bristolsonic Its all the way down to the County FA! They dont seem to be there when we need them either!
Nigel Owens is one of the best when he interacts with players and his jokes. One of of his famous quotes is "That throw was straighter than I am". You have to know a little about Nigel Owens to get that one. One of my favorites is with a player "Bakkies" (many South African players have nicknames, and nobody knows "Bakkies Botha's" real name, he is even listed on the team sheet as Bakkies). Bakkies translated means a "bowl" like a salad bowl. Bakkies was given this nickname when he was a small boy with big ears. A common nickname in South Africa for little boys with big ears. The funny part is when an International ref ask Bakkies, who is over 2 meters tall and weights about 120 kg, "What is your problem? Don't you have ears?"
If the ref isn’t allowed to control a game of Rugby it becomes dangerous, that’s why discipline is drummed into Rugby players from an early age. Also it’s a much more tiring game than football so you’re glad of a breather when the ref blows up, you don’t talk back, you literally save your breath for the next play.
Thanks for this video, it just showed up on my recommended and I was very interested to hear your opinion. You're right, Nigel Owens is one of the greats
I did a Wayne Barnes video today as well. I'm enjoying watching the refs from other sports.
@@RobReacts1 another of my favourites from a while ago now was Chris White. Also Tony Spreadbury.
I think the thing is that the guys who play rugby know that if they don't take the ref's advice, they're just going to continue to give away stupid penalties and they know what not to do. There's also a strong safety issue involved as well. Nigel Owens himself has pointed out that his role was to help the game run smoothly and to help the players enjoy themselves. Nothing more than that. Nigel really should be knighted. Absolute legend of the game.
There's a non write rule, only the captains can speak to the referee. Unless they specifically recuest it
I’m Welsh, we lost to England in the World Cup quarterfinals in Brisbane in 2003, we were devastated to lose to our biggest rivals, but we all had a drink and laugh in the pubs afterwards it was a great atmosphere.I can’t imagine this happening too often in football.
No chance of that happening in football!
He was in the phone to the TMO (VAR official
) their coms went down. So he rang his mobile
Respect is earned. You earn respect through communication.
The one referee I truly respect from my local non-league days was not the one making the most correct calls.
It is the one who came up to me in half time, saying:
"I should have given you a free kick over there, sorry about that."
I hadn't complained, but it was important for him to admit a mistake.
I agree. Referees make mistake. One that I always admit to is when i dont know who the ball last came off for a throw or behind the goal line. I will always be honest and say we will go defensive.
I ref for a few years and I can only one game where a player answered back a Dinnington player who apparently was an ex footballer he got 10 min to cool down
good job!
This is what I like about rugby. The players refer to the referee as Sir. If only the footballers were as respectful of the referee like this.
Great reaction, just subscribed. Nice to hear it from a football ref perspective. As someone who played both I can't stand the abuse refs (and linesmen) in football get especially low low low down at my level!
Thanks Dave. This was one of my first videos so hopefully the quality is a bit better now :)
Nice video man! I'll give some thoughts as a rugby fan as to where I think some of the respect comes from. When you start playing at school they dont introduce a lot of the laws ie lifting at the lineouts until you hit certain ages. But as you get to about 14 and you're playing the full game the ref becomes the guy that keeps you safe, as well as often teaching you laws. Youll see this in big pro games too but I once was playing a the ref dived into a scrum to hold this kid's neck still as he fell badly on his neck, as well as many other events like that. So, I can only imagine every school kid playing has similar refs that help you play hard safely.
Also, from a young age, we consistently had refs that would come into the changing room before the game and explain only the captains would be allowed to speak to them, which seems annoying but its why there's respect- there's a clear chain of communication. You have to ask you captain to ask the ref to watch out for X thing the opposition are doing or ask why X pen was given, it's a lot harder for players to show disrespect to their own captain lol.
Having said that we had some shockers too but I think that the ref having that extra job of keeping you safe really makes a difference.
Thanks for your comment. Means a lot to get well thought out comments. I did a video yesterday as to why its hard to be a football referee. take a look if it interests you. ruclips.net/video/4GD6xddGlmU/видео.html
@@RobReacts1 sure!
I played rugby in New Zealand at schoolboy and club level. If a refs decision went against you were allowed to ask why.
If you argued aggressively you would be sent off and would possibly not be allowed to play for several weeks.
I enjoy watching soccer, but I wish this rule would apply in soccer. It could solve some problems
Same in South Africa at school level. I once made a horrible mistake, and NO-ONE said a word against me.
I don’t watch Rugby but I just love watching these referee clips. I have tried refereeing when I was studying in high school for those leisure student games and I tried imitate Nigel Owens, to a varying degree of success. The cultivated sense of respect from grassroots level, to the transparency through broadcasting referees’ conversations certainly increased the status of the referees. Of course in football there are differences and limitations such as it is much harder to ask both captains for a chat if the skippers are Neuer and Lloris, football does not have the option for the ref to stop the clock in case of a lengthy disruption due to injury of VAR check, and it is expected to be a flowing game. One final thing that I’d like to add is that Nigel has many facets and tools to deal with a situation, from being stern headmaster to his one-liners like ‘I’m straighter than that one’. Not just hugely effective to get messages a cross while having some good humour that made him popular, he must have a thick skin like stand-up comedians that would take things personal and get angered so easily. Nigel is such a character in the rugby world, loved by so many saying that if their teams are playing against Wales, they wouldn’t mind if Nigel is in charge! After his retirement he is still active on RUclips with the series ‘Whistle Watch with Nigel Owens’ where he provides insight to the latest refereeing decisions, as well as his post-retirement life, really worth following!
You should watch some of my other referee videos. I did one which was a compilation. Really interesting to see how they deal with things.
Football doesn’t want players to respect referees otherwise they would have changed things long ago.
You probably have a point! Its like everything, the people at the top need to act rather than just talk!
I feel that it could be easily solved by taking a similar approach as rugby. Only the captains can speak to the ref. Everyone else does not speak to the ref unless spoken to.
Nigel has all the best qualities of a public school Deputy Head, and treats the players like promising but rambunctious students.
when I first played rugby we were told to respect the ref,he is always right even when wrong.Without a ref you dont have a game.
From a rugby player/fan perspective, we're raised to respect the ref's from day one. That said, a few simple laws added to the "beautiful" game could help it - things along the lines of:
1) Only a captain can approach the ref, other players must be called by the ref (if a player wants word they should get their captain to approach ref to ask for it, no swarming)
2) Captains are responsible for their team - Ref tells captain, captain MUST tell team. If a ref tells a captain to sort his team out and they don't, the captain can be penalised.
3) Disrespect/Arguing can get you booked - THAT is how rugby referees feel... you argue with them, you get sent for an early shower.
Football is more "spread out" than rugby, so you might need something like captain and deputy, both allowed to approach ref/act on behalf, so you have forward & back reps, but yeah... you get the idea. Big problem football has is the culture of it being OK to diss, ignore, swarm and argue with the ref.
If the players don't respect the ref, how can you expect the fans to?
Players are big and the game is brutal. Just like in martial arts, people would suffer serious consequences if they did not have respect for each other and the rules. Players know that a good ref is the thin line between a good game and a bloody fight.
also from the very start in Rugby it is drilled in to players no arguing with the refs. Players would soon be dismissed if theytried what footballers do
Things need to change at the top level. We have sin bins at the lower level but they need to be introduced higher up
Respect for the referee and their decision whomever they are at whatever level the game is played is a fundamental basic taught from under 7’s..
The mobile phone clip was when the radios went down between the Mr Owens and the TMO (Video ref) so the team ran out a phone to him so that the correct info could be given.
Also in top flight matches when a decision goes to the TMO (VAR for football) or comes from the TMO in the case of foul play etc the replays are shown to everyone on the big screens. The ref, players and fans get to see ALL the angles in slow motion and real time - as the clock stops there’s no issue with lost time. Fans then get to understand the decision whether it is for or against their team.
Football is a gentleman's game played by bruts, Rugby is a bruts game played by gentlemen.
(Or something like that😄)
Brut is a type of wine mate
@@LloydRichardsMusic lol and old aftershave!
When I've called both teams together for 'a chat' I made sure the goalkeeper was included. In hockey the is massively padded up. On occasion I was thanked by a goalie as he would say he was getting frozen standing on the goal-line! It gave them the chance to warm up.
haha! Whereas in football its always the goalkeeper running half way up the pitch without him being welcome!
Rugby - a thugs game played by gentleman, football a gentleman's game played by thugs, if a rugby ref was 2 ref a football game they'd all be sent off as soon as they spoke back, must be all that money that clogs their ears
haha probably!
Rugby is a team of injured players pretending they are fit. Football is a team of fit players pretending they are injured.
I played Sunday league football years ago and the ref also covered rugby games. Fairest ref we had and the respect from everyone was obvious. Respect can be bred into the game and the officials need to adopt a cooperative approach. It feels very them versus us.
It's an involvement from every spect of the game. When I started playing as a kid, the ref was god, and you did what he said, when he said it. If you argued once, you were marched back 10m each time until you shut up. If that happened, you had 14 other team mates to deal with. Now I coach the same thing as a mini's coach. I also tell the parents on the touchline the same thing. If football ref's agreed a no-tolerance to arguing before the game, and marched them 10m towards the goal, they'd quickly shut up.
Well this is the reason sin bins should be introduced up to a higher level in football. I referee at county level and sin bins make a huge difference. Still abuse but massively cut down!
Imagine Nigel Owens switched over to football
Ref he just shoved me on my back
Nigel:do you think you might need a chiropractor?
I met a really good one from Samoa
I'd love to see one of the football hard men up against Brian Lima.
@@robinwilkinson4173 I'm glad people are aware of the legend's awesome nickname, yeah he could walk into any team and retire the lot of them 😂💀💀
@@robinwilkinson4173 or he could call the butcher Henry tuilagi imagine the service sector in Samoa 😂
Sir, if it was an adult, or Mr Ref, if it was a senior or Uni level referee was how we were taught to address the ref across all sports at school level
Why don't we hear football refs like this.
I'd guess because of the bad language used by footballers. During matches, rugby players will use bad language, and during lockdown matches, you can pick it up on the pitchside microphones. From day one of playing rugby respect for the ref and the language used is cemented into you. I was once sin-binned for raising my eyes to the ref after a decision he made.
the difference is in rugby your taught to respect the referees, and its not just for the refs you play 80 minutes hating the opposition and maybe even fight with them but after the game you shake hands eat food together as both teams and have pint together and have a laugh and a joke. its just respect and being a sportsman
That seems a big difference. Sportsmanship in Rugby vs Gamesmanship in Football
Lots of ways this can be achieved, one is the referee only speaking to the captain.
In rugby players can talk to the referee, but typically the referee will only entertain the odd question here or there, it's the captain who they will speak to. This stops 30 people all trying to talk to the referee..
In rugby, you never question the referee, unless you you’re looking for 10 minutes in the sin bin. His word is final, and he is always addressed with respect. Nigel is being polite with ‘you don’t need to call me sir..’ but actually they do and should. He is in charge of the game and in charge of proceedings on the field.
The tmo (rugby var but well implemented) broke in the clip where he was using the phone, he was calling the operator
One of my best friends is a Rugby referee, and he always says that the players do not know most of the rules of the game as there are so many. So you often have to take the time to explain to them what they have done wrong.
I think it also helps that Rugby has more flexibility to penalize players other than just simple yellows or reds.
He's the rugby equivalent of that wonderful bald headed football referee from 10 years ago...
Pierluigi Collina? You wouldnt mess with him! Scary looking man! haha
A couple of super important things for rugby. 1) when the ref wants, he can stop the clock, so he has all the time in the world to explain his decisions to players. 2) the ref is FULLY within his right to penalise and even sinbin/send off players who argue with him. There is no worse feeling than going back to the changing room and your team mates yelling at you because the ref pushed you back 10m or even gave the other team a penalty because you were running your mouth. and 3) i think the technicality of the game means that many players aren't able to argue because they dont know the exact rules themselves. Owens is know for knowing everything about every rule of rugby and so if you argue with him, you better be sure you know everything as well otherwise he will simply quote the exact rule to you, and send you back to your team. and 4) most often the ref will talk to the captains, and the captains relay the message to their team. This creates a sort of chain of command, and the captains have earn't the right to talk with the ref, and the last thing they want is to piss him off, because they represent their whole side, and if the captain annoys the ref they can get sent off, or they can make the ref penalise their team heavily for every penalty they commit.
there's also one thing that (growing up with football) was a major difference to me - the referee constantly talks to the players *before* they commit a foul if possible telling them for example to back off or something. So the refs are already part of the game and already communicate with the players - not just when a foul happened. This gives a different integration into the game.
@@forchtsengar6071 thats very true. The largely horizontal motion of rugby mixed with pauses in movement from rucks etc does mean the ref is far more involved. American football with 3-5 refs on the field (not including linesmen) is a good way to go imo
Respect is what it is. Simple as that. I'm a rugby league fan (St Helens) but I do enjoy watching Union at international level. There's always a debate on which code is best, completely different games in my opinion but what they do have in common is the respect for the referee and the game. They listen, accept the call and move on. Even fans, we go to Magic Weekend and mix with rival fans and drink together and make friends. It's the same with Union. Rugby is a fantastic sport on the field and off and the respect on the field between the players and the referee is a fine example of how to play sport.
I’ve done that once in my refereeing career in football, I called the whole team in, and had a firm word. It worked, but there’s always one isn’t there:
Speaking to the captains is standard practice in rugby, there is an unwritten rule that only captains speak directly to the ref unless a ref has called a player over.
As a player, if you have an issue or question you speak to your captain to raise with the ref.
After a 100 caps for refereeing international games , he got to know many of the international players over the years and was on first name terms with many of them, and they respected him and his decisions.
The rules of the game also help the rugby referee. He can send someone off for 10 minutes, he can give a penalty for decent and move it back 10m if players complain or don't respond quickly enough. Those rules create peer pressure on individuals to behave. Over and above that is the background of the players and discipline drilled into them at school.
I think the main reasons are.
1. Rugby is more open to interpretation than football. The rugby players have to listen to the ref otherwise they will give penalties away.
2. Penalties are worth a lot more than in football (outside the box of course). Many many games are won just by grinding an opposition down until they give a penalty away and then kicking the three points.
3. The ref has really easy ways of substantially punishing disrespect in a sliding scale. He can move the penalty forward 10m, which makes a big difference to how easy the three points are. Also makes you run 10m quickly as you are out of position and your defence isn't set. Also the yellow card is 10mins in the sin bin, in football a yellow card does nothing until it becomes red so the punishment is either nothing or too much. The ref can even give a penalty try (which is what should happen in football when Suarez saves the ball).
4. Lastly it's cultural. Some football fans operate under the delusion that screaming their tiny heads off is their God given right at, and only at, a football match.
I think one of the key things in rugby is the fact that you can stop the clock. So you have time to speak to the players and explain the rules (there are oh so many). Also Rugby has a history of using technology to make decisions, replays are shown on the big screen etc. So players rarely need to go to the ref for anything because it's all being looked at. Also the nature of the game is such that penalties (think free kicks) and yellow cards (10 minutes out) determine the outcome of a vast majority the games. So it's never in a player's interest to antagonize the ref in anyway. One of the factors in choosing a team captain is their ability to speak to the ref. Despite the laws, refs still have some freedom to impose their will and a smart captain knows how to keep the ref on their side.
Nothing against your profession Rob, Nigel I class as one of Rugbys top referees and it is such a shame he has just retired from doing internationals when he achieved the heady heights of 100 caps. When the union world was here 6 years ago he received the most deserved honour of referee of the year. The points you raised were absolutley right, he commands the respect the players in the ways you said and also different from football because for the 80 minutes the games is live what the officials says goes and they are the law, rugby officials are more respected than yourselves because it is more of a gentlemanly sport. Also his man management skills are second to none, I believe in the (18 years he was top tier level referee) he has changed virtually single handedly apart from Wayne Barnes, Ben Thaler and Ben Whitehouse the way the refs have to referee the game. They are top men because there reputation proceeds them from there way of letting the game flow more instead of as I think you said it constantly being stop/start rugby. Maybe if you can find any footage as I know you've looked at Wayne Barnes, look at Ben Thaler(he is a Rugby League ref) and Ben Whitehouse. Maybe you could start a revolution in how football refereed like these gents have with Rugby. Thank you for the video.
Cheers for your comment Justin. I massively appreciate it. I have a video going up tomorrow at 4pm of a rugby ref compilation. The video is about 25mins long but i talk a lot about each individual clip and relate most of them to football. Was a really interesting and enjoyable video to do!
In rugby the referee commands great respect, any backchat and a player can be penalised, but none moreso than this great man, he is so impartial that he could referee a Wales match. In one clip he tells off the Welsh national captain Alun Wyn Jones. Him being Welsh is just a bonus.
like others have commented, its bred into you as a player - the ref's word is final. he has to be respected.
As a rugby fan, I really love how respect is one of the most important values of the sport. They can be hitting real hard during the game, there'll always be respect between the players, and even more for the referee.
A great rule of rugby that could be applied to football as well is that the referee can give penalties in case of contestations, or players talking too much. And if the penalty is already against them, they can make it harsher (usually the penalty is 10m closer to the goalline). That gives the referee a real figure of authority, and allows them to have real discussions with players, as they know they have no interest of attacking the referee.
Thats something im really appreciating. As im watching these clips as a football ref.
@@RobReacts1 I used to watch football occasionally when I was younger, but I don't do it anymore, and that's partially due to the fact a lot of players don't respect the referee, or even the game sometimes... for example when they simulate or try to exagerate a fault. Rugby referees have a very close look at that, and it really has a bad reputation in the fanbase.
With a game as physical as Rugby, the respect has to there for the referee to make it safe for everyone
There is certainly the safety aspect in rugby
The problem is that rugby was classed as a gentleman’s game and from the very start rules were laid down to give the referee complete respect, he is there to help you win simple as that....Nigel has had respect from his very first game where he placed his rules on the pitch....he’s done this job long enough to have built up the names of most players, being called by your name on pitch shows respect to player and game.
Players know that they have to play the game within the rules and in the spirit of the game. Most games under his control become fast free running matches which is why all the top teams would have had him as a ref every time.
Nigel is a referee that is in control, but not THE control. he understands that the game is paramount and the rules must be adhered to. he also realizes that there are gentlemen playing a gangster game and sometimes a word to the wise is all that is needed.
great comment!
BTW , Nigel worked hard to earn that respect, he earned it. He is the equal of Pierluigi Collina in football
i think that the main thing is that the respect is given from the earliest age. Couch, players even the parents of the kids respect the referee.
Also the added thing is that in rugby you can stop time and explain. The possibility of being send of for 10 minutes is quite a big deterrent.
With the mobile phone, he was talking to the TMO (Rugby's VAR). He mentioned it the other day in one of his videos. The voice link wasn't working so he had to dial it in!
I think that one of the reasons rugby players are respectful to the ref, is because at one point most if not all of the top players were university educated and in theory members of polite society and that just filtered down the levels.
I played for 22 tears, and had team-mates who dug ditches for gas pipes, Doctors, Army officers, Farmers and bricklayers. Everyone is equal. You are all just a member of that team. The team trusts the Captain, and the Captain works with the officials. I would like to see the sin-bin for a yellow in Football, particularly for attempting to intimidate the referee. You do not touch the ref. If you assault a ref, it's a lifetime ban, However, I do think that there is a place in Football for retired forwards, who could be usefully employed to come onto the field when there is an outbreak of 'theatricals', and tread on the offender with regulation 1.25" aluminium studs until they get up. I would be ideally suited at 6'5" and 250lbs. :)
@@KBJ58 True, I played for 15ish years and found that my teammates were from all walks of life. One incident that happened in a game I was involved in, was that a player did a bit of 'theatrics' to feign injury and the next time he got hit he was carried off.
Rugby referees have effective tools in their armoury! Talk back = free kick to opposition or, if free kick already awarded, free kick moves ten meters upfield. Or there's always yellow cards (off field for ten minutes).
I recall years ago when Hull City met Hull KR in a final at Wembley. The supporters historically HATE each other. Before, during and after the match there was no trouble at all. The fans didn't even need to be seperated and were even mixed in the stands.
Can't imagine that happening at a football match.
As a saints fan, I can say that would never be the case when Pompey visit 🤣
It's great to hear this from a Football referee!
Cheers man. Lots more videos on my channel as the whole referee reacting to rugby has been asked for a lot!
It's worth noting in rugby the captain is allowed to talk to the referee(within reason), so you will see some clips of backchat(Christopher! Was England's captain at the time)