Former official slams Paul Rowley over referee comments

We are coming off some big games in Super League as Leeds Rhinos and Leigh Leopards collided as did Hull FC and Wakefield Trinity in a big Sunday of Super League action but the big game was the meeting between Salford Red Devils and Super League and World Champions St Helens.

This was the game of the round as Saints battled back from 15-2 behind to defeat the Red Devils 18-15.

There were some controversial calls during the game however which led to Paul Rowley saying after the match that it was “a good game spoiled.”

He would also describe official Jack Smith as a “disgrace.”

“It’s so hard. If we’d have won the game, I’d come in and say probably exactly the same thing. I thought the officials were a disgrace,” he said on Salford Red Devils TV.

“I think Jack, I’ve watched him on telly, he’s been a disgrace a few times this year, one for us at Warrington at home. So three games in a row now we’ve been absolutely let down.

“So clearly Kendal and Liam Moore are the best two refs who get all the cup finals, we don’t get them too much so we must6 be deemed poor quality games.

“It’s kind of gloves off, I’m usually quite measured and take my time I don’t like to criticise because we’ve lost obviously, but again, I’d have said the same thing in victory.

“Games are very much decided by officials quite often and the obvious response to that will be, ‘they don’t miss a tackle’, ‘they don’t do a forward pass’, and no they don’t, but they don’t get batted 25 times a game either so a lot of it is just visual.

“Then when you’ve got a bright pink boot four foot in front of you on a touchline, then you would hope that somebody competent would make the right decision. As a result of that the sequence continues and we get a man in the bin and then there’s a try scored from a knock on.”

These were some strong comments as he admitted “the gloves were off.”

He also had his say on how to fix officiating calling for more refs.

However, former official Ian Smith has come out and said Rowley’s comments will only deter people from taking on the role.

“He’s talking about recruiting more refs, not quite sure this level of criticism is great for recruitment and retention of match officials,” he said on social media.

“It gives the media including social media a platform then to give their ‘two peneth’ (me included by the way.)”