Referees ordered to get tough on backchat

Players backchatting referees and putting match officials under psychological pressure are going to be hammered, starting with the Six Nations Championship this weekend.

A crackdown is set to fall on those players complaining to referees or touch judges about their decisions. Warnings will be given but then penalties and even yellow cards are possible, on the grounds of persistent law breaking.

Players and coaches have taken advantage of a more lenient approach by match officials. The original idea was for referees to allow a contrary viewpoint to be expressed by a captain. It has got to the stage where some of the scenes are thoroughly unpleasant. England scrum half Matt Dawson was seen screaming in protest, his face contorted in fury, at a touch judge during a recent match between Stade Toulouse and Wasps. Also in that game, Wasps captain Lawrence Dallaglio spent virtually the entire game moaning to the referee and gesticulating on occasions about assumed misdemeanours by the French players.

England have been targeted as one of the worst offenders. Their captain Martin Corry is regarded as a persistent offender, but other international players like George Gregan, the Australian captain, have been equally adept at the trick. Plenty of others are, too.

What has pushed the International Rugby Board to act now is clear evidence that the problem is becoming widespread. IRB refereeing supremo Paddy O'Brien says: "It has become an epidemic. It is a bad part of the game."

O'Brien was the television match official during last year's Lions tour and says he could hear players complaining to the referees throughout the games. "At every decision, there was this talking going on."

No one at the IRB wants to get silly about this. Players moaning "come on ref, give us a chance" are as old as the game itself. It is almost a traditional part of the sport. But those who administer rugby worldwide are not daft. They have seen damaging trends in other sports, like cricket, where the Australians are virtually demanding an explanation from umpires as to why a player was not given out.

That, surely, transcends the boundaries of fair play and rugby's officials want none of it in their game.

"There is nothing in the law book that says players have the right to make comments to a referee," O'Brien says. "Half the time, players or captains are complaining simply to stop the other side taking a quick penalty. It is slowing the game up and has to be tackled."

O'Brien has told all the referees handling Six Nations matches to crack down hard on the trait. He believes that a couple of early penalties, as soon as the complaining starts, will solve most of the problems. If that doesn't do it, referees will have the right to issue yellow cards for persistent offenders.

* SIX NATIONS

Tomorrow:

Ireland v Italy, Lansdowne Rd, 2.25am
England v Wales, Twickenham, 4.25am

Monday:

Scotland v France, Murrayfield, 3.55am

(all games live, Rugby Channel)