Following his outrageous comments about last Friday's referee he should be brought before the judiciary and given a stiff penalty for his verbal attack on Mr Cobb. We teach boys from age 7 to respect the referee, accept his decisions (right or wrong) and keep your mouth shut or face the consequences. I have not seen the game and what Betts said may be true but, as a professional he should keep his views to himself, or temper them for the media. Joe Cobb may be the worst referee ever, or just have had an off day, or was it because Widnes lost? We need to throw the book at Betts to send the message out that such attacks on referees will not be tolerated

Except we don't teach boys or girls to respect the referee. We teach them to scream and moan at him and if it doesn't go our way to get angry and worked up. And none of that occurs because of what Dennis Betts or anybody in SL does or doesn't do.

Totally agree. A few years ago John Kear had some issues with Ashley Klein; he raised it with the RFL who subsequently took action. Little of this made the press; handled correctly by all sides.

No Junior rugby club I have ever been involved in encouraged the kids to scream and moan at the referee.

Really? Not at any age group at your club had the coaches shouted and screamed at the referee? Or allowed the parents to shout and scream at the referee? I see it every weekend at different clubs across Yorkshire.

In my experience young lads are taught never to approach the referee, unless he calls you over and yes, they still have to call him sir

That was also my experience - coaches, assistants, parents and other spectators screaming at the (often junior) ref, with clubs unwilling, or unable, to do anything about it; the best deterrent I ever saw in the junior league, was a young ref who always came with his Dad, who looked a bit handy.

Not at any club I have been involved in. I recall a couple of occasions where parents (from our club) have been spoken to by club officials and have subsequently calmed down. There are some junior clubs who, undoubtedly, encourage their kids and parents to scream at the (often 14 yr old) referee and I have personally submitted a lengthy report about one of those clubs to the authorities, but largely, at a junior level, most clubs teach the kids and parents to respect referees.

I will take a guess... you say you see it every week? Well I suspect that you have a problem at your club then.

Correct.

I don't have a club, I watch various clubs and I see it regularly and its regularly reported to have happened at other games. It's also one of the 2 main reasons reported to me by parents/kids who drop out of the amateur game.
I'd have to say you're either just not seeing/noticing it, or your club/age group is very much in the minority.

Yep. That's what I generally see. That screaming and shouting from the sidelines gets the kids more worked up and leads to more violence and abuse. Just last week I saw a coach shouting at a 12 year old referee, who handled it brilliantly. The shouting and screaming from that teams coaches and parents was throughout the game and significantly contributed to the negative atmosphere at the game which then, lo and behold, led to a fight. At u11's.

Our previous 2 coaches in Ian Millward and Daniel Anderson use to raise issues with the RFL but they use to say that the RFL were a waste of space because there was no transparency and nothing gets done to improve things.

The last couple of years match official standards are pretty rock bottom, they are far to weak and inconsistent, players and coaches these days can manipulate the referee. I think most coaches last season and this season have had a "dig" at the referee, some players are questioning nearly every decision these days and its knocking the intensity out of games.

I've got nothing against Joe Cobb at all, i met him in Perpignan last year and he came across a very nice, genuine guy, however he is still very raw and inexperienced in refereeing terms.
The fact that for 2 weeks now, a coach has complained about his handling of the game and insinuations that his decisions decided the outcome of games is a worry.
I don't agree with coaches slating officials in post match interviews, but emotion etc usually takes over.
I think it would good for Joe Cobb to take time out from refereeing in top flight games and get a bit of confidence back.
I do also think that refereeing standards are poor at the moment, and yes, we all give them some stick at games, but they are only human after all.

I coach an u10s team in the NW, have been involved since u7s. I could (but won't) name the 2 or 3 clubs that regularly have issues with the way they speak to referees and also have the kids most likely to hit out/high tackle/be nasty. But the vast majority are well behaved and treat the refs we have with respect. Our kids are told very clearly not to argue with refs and to focus on their own game rather than the refs performance. And I've heard other coaches say similar.
As for Betts l thought he was as out of order as Anderson and should have similar punishment. Not good for the New England Asst

I'm shocked to see Widnes fans not blaming Gibson for Betts comments as well

That was the point when it all started to go wrong for them, so it was clearly his fault

I'm going to Tweet Gibson and swear at him and accuse him of being a coward and blame him for Ah Van's ban, and Betts outburst, and the disciplinary
........oh wait, too late, someone already did that.

Oh no, all in the Championship did a small jig when he got 'promoted' - you can keep him.

Though it has been noted he isn't reffing any Challenge cup ties this coming weekend.

You could tell he is weak and not ready by his handling of the Leigh Bradford game at LSV 1st game of last season. 6 sin binnings and a rash of bad decisions! Caused fight after fight. Why a Leigh lad and Leigh fan had that game was ridiculous

Maybe what went on the previous week got to Joe Cobb a little and he had a bit of an off night? Plenty of players have plenty of off nights, are refs not allowed to get anything wrong?

Can't really comment on the whole game as I didn't go but video evidence and subsequent disciplinary results have proved 3 of the 4 cards correct decisions, although Ah Van could arguably have been red carded?

Why doesn't Denis look at those as contributing factors to their defeat other than the easy option of blaming the referee? He can't even get a decision right when he's seen a replay, claiming they scored a perfectly good try when it clearly wasn't!

Joe Cobb didn't spear tackle anyone, punch anyone, trip anyone in the last 10 minutes when Widnes were in front. He didn't drop any balls, miss any tackles, do any high shots etc...maybe the reason for the loss was a bit closer to home?

The game needs referees and they should be helped and supported not constantly slagged off by coaches when their team loses. He had fantastic game when we played Salford at home...the video of the game is there for anyone to watch on YouTube...he was near on flawless...excellent communication with the players (something you don't really appreciate at live games)....lets get behind young refs like him because without them we wouldn't have a game to watch!

Denis Betts is no serial complainer of referees. This is an exceptional circumstance. The refereeing wasn't good enough on Friday night and the fact that Cobb doesn't have a game this weekend speaks volumes about what his employers think of his recent performances.
Let me start by saying I have no problem with the Ah Van yellow and whilst surprised he got five games instead of four I'm not arguing against the suspension either. It started off as a great hit but he lost control of the tackle and it ended badly. I'm disappointed for Gibson as I would be for any player injured and facing a lengthy lay off.
I'd question why Moore didn't go to the bin for his running in and retaliating?
I'd love to know why you think the Marsh try was clearly a no try too? The fact that Sky have posted the video the way they have tells you that there is at the very least a decision to be made. Or are they posting videos of all no trys now? For the life of me I can't find a reason for it to be chalked off. Houston jumps with his eye on the ball. Miller barely challenges at all. The reaction of the Wakefield players tells you everything you need to know about that clip. Not a single protest just shared resignation. No hands in the air complaining of an unfair challenge. They expect it to be given andiIf that is handed to the video ref then it's certainly given. Widnes are 10 points clear and go on to win the game. Marsh's trip becomes inconsequential. Absolutely the referee was responsible for us losing that game. And he's paid this week by being dropped.
Finally... I've no interest in slagging off referees. I'd much rather never have to mention them but they are paid a sum of money to be evenhanded, consistent and accurate. Rugby league games are a product and we are consumers. Imagine going to the cinema and the film presentation stopping and starting and being out of sync with the sound and the customers thinking.. 'It's alright cos the projectionist is only a young lad learning his trade.' More has to be done to support them to be better in their job but they shouldn't be given a free ride to make as many errors as they can. If there is a problem recruiting them then maybe they should be paid considerably more.

To be fair, he isn't the one who decides which matches he is in charge of.

Can someone please give Widnes the 2 points, so we can all get a rest from the bitching and whining of their fans?

Are we not allowed right of reply?



I was under the impression that if one of your fans was willing to keep the conversation going then we would be able to offer the counter view or does that run out if we don't respond within a 2 hour deadline?

I'm glad I started on page 3. If the bitching & whining on the previous 2 pages is even too much for a Wakey fan it must be insufferable.