CONTROL OF SPORT

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 447, 31 August 1928, Page 10

CONTROL OF SPORT

*N OLD-TIMER tells the story of the early days of R U( q, T ** football in New Zealand when there was no referee, and the captains, true gentlemen of the old school, decided all infringements on these lines—“My man was off-side, Mr. Smith will you take a scrum here or a free kick hack there?” The present-day player laughs at that, but he cannot evade the just accusation that the football captain of to-day is little more than a figurehead, and that the spirit of sportsmanship is often submerged under the intense desire to win at all costs. In a letter to The Sun this week, a correspondent touche' on a vital point when he urges firmer control of matches bv referees, and the unequivocal support of the controlling body for the man with the whistle, be it Rugby, League or Soccer* He draws attention to the fact that the authority of tlie referee is in danger of being undermined by lack of support from the controlling body. 11c might have added, too, that players of international reputation are too often allowed to think that thev are indispensable, and that they can do as they like on the field of play. It is the first essential of successful refereeing that the man in charge should have complete control of the players, and that his word is law, not only on the field, but when he reports to his Union. League or Association, as the case may be. Similarly it is a wise referee who takes the two captains into his confidence bv so doing, he improves their position and his own as well.