Pat Lam opposes match referee powers - Super Rugby News
The Blues coach Pat Lam has expressed his displeasure at the current powers of referees during a match. He has objected to the absolute powers of referees after the controversial penalty awarded to the Queensland Reds against the Crusaders on Sunday, May 29. Lam has asked the authorities to introduce an action-replay system to allow for better decisions on the field.
Australian referee, Stu Dickenson, awarded a last minute try to the Queensland Reds during their match against the Crusaders on Sunday, in Brisbane. The decision proved to be devastating for the Christchurch based derby and they lost a match that was in the bag for them. The Crusaders’ coach, Todd Blackadder, took the judgment with iron hands and slammed the referee.
Talking to reporters yesterday on May 30, Blackadder declared the decision unjustified. Blackadder further said that bad refereeing had deprived his team of a deserved victory.
According to the current rules of IRB and SANZAR a referee may ask the TMO (Television Match Official) before awarding a try or about the execution of a try. He may also ask for an argument to not awarding a try to the opposite team, otherwise he has got every right to impose his decision on an individual or team.
Although the coach avoided criticising the refereeing of Stu Dickenson, he still called the decision too stern of an action. Lam asserted that coaches of both the playing side should be considered before making tough decisions like that at Suncorp Stadium. He further said that, "We get that every game, all of us coaches. There are some tough decisions being made, and no one is perfect, we know that... certainly I'd say probably both coaches every week could be aggrieved by some of the decisions made."
Lam also asserted the importance of assistant referees and said that they should be given extra responsibilities. He added, "The quality of the assistant referees help the guys on board, and obviously the more experience they've got the better it is. They are trying to work to improve the whole standard of assistant referees because they have such a big impact in the game now. It's an important role.”
Pat Lam has been asking for the changes in the refereeing powers but his suggestions have not been considered yet by any of the officials.
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