Cape Town – Test referee Willie Roos has resigned from refereeing, prompting Andre Watson, referees’ manager of the South African Rugby Union, to call on rugby supporters to return to traditional rugby values of respect towards officials.
Roos retired from refereeing after 15 years of training and experience after he was abused and had a drink flung in his face in Kimberley following a Currie Cup Premier Division match. Some supporters blamed Roos for Griquas’ defeat after they earned two yellow cards in the final 10 minutes and succumbed to a late score from the Blue Bulls.
Roos is taking legal action against his assailant in Kimberley.
“We have been working hard to recruit more referees and have seen a six percent increase in our numbers, but incidents like this and the criticism and abuse that our officials receive both from the stands and from the attendant publicity violates the spirit of rugby,” said Watson.
“It takes many years and tens of thousands of rands to bring a referee through the ranks to be able to officiate at Currie Cup level, and to lose one because of the actions of a few hot-headed supporters and ill-informed media comment is desperately wasteful from a rugby point of view and personally very sad for Willie Roos.
“I’d like to thank him and pay tribute to him for the many thousands of hours he has given to the game in usually unglamorous surroundings and at times that have taken him away from his family. We tried to talk him out of his decision, but he told us that ‘enough is enough’.”
In his letter of resignation Roos said that refereeing had given him many great friends and taken him all over the world, but that his passion for the game had gone.
“I have made mistakes in my career but they were never intentional and I always tried my best. But I fail to understand how the decisions of referees are blamed for winning and losing matches but those of coaches and players are not.
“I was taught never to swear at or criticise players or coaches when I was a youngster but I have experienced it in abundance – particularly in the last two years. The off-the-field abuse has caused considerable embarrassment and heartache to me and my family and this latest incident told me it was time to quit the game I love and cherish.”
Watson said that Roos’s application of the Law leading to the yellow carding of two Griquas players against the Blue Bulls could not be faulted, from a Law point of view. He added that replacing a referee of Roos’s calibre and experience was far from straightforward.
“He has refereed nine Test matches, 14 Super Rugby games and more than 30 Currie Cup matches. Experience like that takes seasons to accumulate,” said Watson.
“Willie was one of the top 10 referees in South Africa and it is tragic to lose him at the tender age of 34, when he should have been available to service SA Rugby for at least 10 more years.
“The Kimberley match was the last straw in the Willie’s case. Referees know that our role is potentially controversial and that there will definitely be criticism, but when it becomes physical and personal in nature, then a line has been crossed.
“Whilst we have a policy of admitting mistakes in public and continuously attempting to educate the public and supporters regarding the law and its application, we find it increasingly irrational to blame everything on the refereeing every time.
Oregan Hoskins, president of the South African Rugby Union, backed the appeal for a return to traditional values.
“Apart from our top four referees, every other referee operating in South Africa – such as Willie – is a volunteer,” said Hoskins. “We are in a dire situation in terms of referee numbers in this country – we have 1 800 when we need 8 000 – and if we are not careful there is a growing danger that more and more club and school matches will be refereed by someone pulled off the touchline.”
Watson added: “They are asked to operate in an environment where they are the only scapegoat on any given match-day – which is unfair and suggests we as a nation have forgotten those values of respecting the officials and the game that we were taught at school.
“We wish Willie all the best for the future and hope that he will make himself available for other duties in the refereeing fraternity, to give us the value of his experience, in the future.”
Uittredende Jan.
Brandewyn Jan
Dis jammer, ons moet meer top refs he, nie minder nie. Anders sit ons met te veel van daai Ausie of NZ gemors.
Shame ek sal hom mis……NOT..
Old Willie dRoos was’nt the most popular Ref… or anywhere close to being an outstanding Ref…
He suffered lots of complaints from various games !!
If you cannot take the heat… it’s time to leave the kitchen
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Ive met Willie Roos, and although he wasnt a great ref, he was good and funny guy and helped alot in making a golf day a huge success.
His surname is spelled wrong…..
He is the worst ref – worst than Daryll Hare is in cricket.
The day he sighted Schalk Burger for nothing (I mean – the following commision found him not guilty) was the day he made it clear.
He had a agenda, which started on school level with Schalk in paarl Gim, and he refereeing the game.
Take your wistle, and get the f@ck out – there are a lot better refs that is being kept down – someone like Francois Veldsman.
“He added that replacing a referee of Roos’s calibre and experience was far from straightforward”
Yea I can imagine finding someone else with such an irritatingly whining voice who could make so many mistakes in the space of 80 minutes, would be almost impossible.
Good riddance to the Matt Goddard of SA rugby. Schalk Burger is probably devasted at this tragic turn of events.. NOT hehehehe
Bye bye Willie D.
Willie doo5 gaan beslis nie gemis word nie! Hy was seker die k@kste ref wat in ‘n laaang tyd op ‘n CC veld toegelaat is.
@Ex Player – Some underlaying anger coming out Ex.
Thanks for insite anyway.
Never thought he was a good ref anyway.
Cheers Willie, you will not be missed.
@Supa Die Bloubul – More Supa – Roos was beslis nie ‘n blom nie 😀
how they ever let this guy ref in a game that his brother-in-law was playing in, I will never know!
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@Karen –
hehe Karen. Ek stem, hy was nie n goeie ref nie. Ek sien hyt veral diep letsels gelaat by wp ondersteueners. 😉
@Supa Die Bloubul – Ons sou die CC gewen het as dit nie vir hom was nie. Hy’t ‘n emosionele letsel by die WP spelers gelos, en hulle het nog nooit weer daarvan herstel nie.
Coming to think of it, dis Willie Roos se skuld dat die WP so kuk speel. GorrelRoosJan! 😀
Lyk my al die rose is aan’t verlep!
15@robdylan – I’ll put an Article up and quote you liberally !!
Hehehe
@isigidi – Ons blameer hom sommer vir Apartheid ook – die D!
@Ex Player – @isigidi – LMAO! 😆
@Ex Player – @isigidi –
Nou dat julle dit noem…die Bulle se 10de plek laasjaar en ons swak skrum “has Willie Roos’s name all over it!” 🙄
@grootblousmile – 😉
Another wishy washy, ineffective, keep everybody happy, quote from Oregon Hoskins.
I wonder what Louis Luyt thinks about Oregon Hoskins!!
Actually sorry, I don’t wonder, I know, and it can’t be repeated in public!!
Faaaark dis hoog tyd die poepol hang sy fluitjie op… hy was nog altyd kuk, onthou toe hy Schalla ge-site het laas jaar toe se Schalk vir hom of hy f@kken blind is. Daarna het hy klein games geblaas en hy is nog altyd kuk! Good bye en cheers Willie Tietkop!
it’s a sad day when we lose a ref. he was not the greatest ref you’ll ever come across but I agree, there has been far more chirping from the players in recent years on tv(maybe it just wasn’t visible before). We are in dire need of refs, and I know all too well the consequences of not having properly trained refs, it’s the reason I hung up my boots. if we as spectators treat refs the way that this bloke did, you can’t expect them to work without some serious hazard pay, and then when we are scraping the barrel for refs and kiepie from the sideline is given a whistle because he has had a few and becoming vocal in his knowledge of the laws, we will know why.
I think that the anger towards refs has stemmed from a lack of perceived protocols that ensure the most accurate and fair judgement on the game by the players and spectators. The IRB has created a perception that the refs and the administrators are above the law through their lack of transparency and misunderstanding of the mind of the masses and as such the players will chirp every decision to show their resentment and the spectators will call refs every name under the sun and verbally and physically threaten them.
Refs are human, and humans are by their nature biased and make mistakes, so as much as we want an impartial ref it isn’t going to happen.
ek wens Johnathan Kaplan wil ook nou uittree. hy is die kakste van die lot.
This is not a good sign for SA rugby, regardless of your views whether he was a good referee or not. Combine this with the armband incident & one can see that some soul searching is needed in SA rugby. It’s a slippery slope you may find yourselves on. Sad to read about this. Abuse of a referee should not be condoned. It’s a line that should never be crossed. 🙁
Old Wille Roos is doing us all a favour by hopping off the bus now, his pedantic style of refereeing definitely won’t be missed, he probably has a lifetime honorary Loftus membership now anyway after his one eyed reffing displays against any team playing against the bulls.
While I am not condoning the fact that a pissed off supporter wasted his b&c on old Willie, I can see why the supporter was so pissed off, the second yellow card was totally unjustified.
Cheers Willie have a good life . . . . the only place you will be missed is at loftu
29@modawg – Willie Roos is heavily involved at the GLRU…. he’s no Bull… made some strange calls against EVERYBODY.
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