Nigel Owens

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Top bloke, and a great referee in my opinion.
If only football referees would talk to players in the same way, they could learn from him. I appreciate that respect from rugbly players to officials is much greater but even so he explains every decision, diffuses all situations. I enjoy listening to him when he referees a game as it helps me to understand it more. Other rugby refs do the same but I think his Welsh lilt is just so soothing and he seems so calm.
 
If only football referees would talk to players in the same way, they could learn from him. I appreciate that respect from rugbly players to officials is much greater but even so he explains every decision, diffuses all situations. I enjoy listening to him when he referees a game as it helps me to understand it more. Other rugby refs do the same but I think his Welsh lilt is just so soothing and he seems so calm.
The reason why the glorious game of Rugby, is better than football (as you can tell, not a big footy fan ;-))
 
The reason why the glorious game of Rugby, is better than football (as you can tell, not a big footy fan ;-))
To counter that, rugby matches will still see punch ups that would cause a headline on the 10'o clock news if they happened in football. All is not pure in rugby but in terms of officials and how the players behave with them they are miles ahead (y)
 
Kinda wonder why they could not introduce that straight into football .. only the captain can speak to the ref's, cannot insult the ref's otherwise an instant yellow card ... wondering if it would make football a better behaved sport
I believe that is supposed to happen now but the refs don't enforce it. They should and yes, it would.

I would have them miked up as in rugby as well. That would put the cat amongst the pigeons but I think it would help the fans understand decisions more and players would have to clean up their act. Clubs and sponsors would insist on it.
 
Kinda wonder why they could not introduce that straight into football .. only the captain can speak to the ref's, cannot insult the ref's otherwise an instant yellow card ... wondering if it would make football a better behaved sport
Probably end up with six players on the pitch at the implementation stage.
I don't think football players eye gouge BTW, so not all Rugby players are goody two shoes.
 
Some good clips on YouTube showing refs dealing with players. The great thing about it is that there is NO chat back and if there is it's penalised immediately with a 10 yard penalty. It's ingrained into the psyche of Rugby players from day one that you ALWAYS respect the referee. There was a rule in football that only one player can approach the referee but that seems to have gone by the wayside now as well. There's a great clip where Nigel Owens tells the Scottish fullback off after diving and telling them if they want to try that come back in two weeks (when there was a football match).
Yes, Rugby is a brutal game and can be dirty but believe me a lot less dirty than 20 or so years ago. But I do wish football would follow their example. It would also be good for kids watching the games too.
 
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