I thought I would share this exchange on my old Team's message board. They were unhappy with their ref at the weekend. I can't comment on his overall performance but I think here, he has made the right call.
Our whingeing wound him up and made him emotional (he had fear in his eyes) and decisions started to go against us. I particularly enjoyed the penalty he gave against us when Ga (correctly) called their line out not straight - "I was going to give you the scrum ...".
If you persistently chat back, commentate, question decisions then you run the risk of a penalty. Even if the throw wasn't straight and the ref was going to give it, telling him it wasn't straight is going to be seen by all refs as questioning his decision, which is a penalty. It won't happen the first time or possibility the second but it is going to happen eventually.
We had plenty of chats and he told me he was looking for an excuse to card Clem (because Clem was whingeing). His excuse came in the 38th minute when Clem hit the guy who had just headbutted him.
Now I would never comment as such to a player, but any player who consistently whinging at you as ref is not going to be your best friend. Its the same as above. "he's off-side,ref"," forward pass ref?" If the ref didn't blow, it wasn't, by asking those questions you're questioning his decision. Penalty.
Clem was using up his credit and when it comes to a 50-50 of card or not, there is nothing in the credit column. Headbutt or not, you are going to get a card for throwing a punch. Its straight forward retaliation, refs rarely see the first offence but its much more likely they will see the consequence.
Most refs are out to enjoy his afternoon too, do engage in banter but when it comes to the decision process. Keep your mouths shut!
