In further efforts to curb levels of abuse referees face, no registered team official (RTO) or spectators must question any decision made by the referee or use abusive language – before, during or after the game.
Should an RTO breach the above, they will be issued a red card and the game will be abandoned.
Should an RTO have a question stemming from a game, they are to follow the correct procedure of putting their feedback or questions in writing to the BDAFA office via their Club Secretary.
“The measures are strong, and the board will continue to review other changes and communicate them when finalised,” a BDAFA spokesperson said.
“Before the game, at half-time and at full-time, some RTOs (coaches and managers) consider it their right to question or worse, argue or abuse referees about their decisions during a game.
“Although many coaches and managers are respectful, and the request is genuine, this interaction allows for potential abuse or arguing.”
President of the Canterbury Referees Association, Rodrigo Martins, said his league, which neighbours the BDAFA, had lost 75 referees in the last year.
“Referee abuse is certainly a real issue in our game,” he said.
“Too often we see the abuse of referees or people that abuse referees get slaps on the wrist or they might have one-week suspensions.”
Martins said that through incidents like these, he hoped it would help create a cultural reset of attitudes towards referees.
“Sadly in a year where we should be selling our image to world with the FIFA Womens World Cup on our doorstep, we are discussing how to best protect our referees,” he said.
