Rugby Saint II

I was refereeing a large rugby tournament at Alabama in Tuscaloosa recently when it occurred to me that referees can be swayed with their penalties. There is a general unwritten law that says if the game ends in a tie then that referee has to buy fruity drinks for the rest of the refs at the referees dinner. It is frowned upon to let a match finish with a tie because it can affect the scheduling for the rest of the tournament.

So, in other words we referees are influenced by outside factors besides just the play as it unfolds in front of you. Referees also tell each other about players that they consider dirty and we do watch them closer. While at the same time players who have earned our trust get the least attention and most leniency when it comes to a close call.

The more I thought about it I could see where there would be a bias against The New Orleans Saints because we've put the NFL referees into a defensive position with our public criticism about recent play calls that killed our season. It wasn't just the Saints fans. The media really blasted them about how bad those calls were. You know that he NFL refs have to talk about this amongst themselves allowing for unintentional bias from a referee, whether it's warranted or not.

Anyway, I don't buy fruity drinks anymore....I let the younger refs buy them for me now. You've just got to let a good play go to the in goal(end zone)without allowing minor interferences to stop the play in the closing minutes of a match.