Australian sports have been struggling to retain referees at grassroots levels with abuse cited as a major factor.
Australian sports has suffered a high referee turnover rate, with football estimated to have 40 per cent of referees quit annually.
A 2022 study has showed that 94 per cent of referees have experienced abuse whilst 1 in 5 football referees reported physical abuse.
Source: European Sport Management Quartlerly
Former NSW Basketball referee Flynn Kearney believes that the abuse is worse at the grassroots level due to the adults at the games.
“In younger ages the abuse stems from the parents and coaches, I had minimal issues with the kids,” he said.
“The lower divisions tended to have more abuse and problems.
“Occasionally it did make me want to stop.”
Source: Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport
A 2024 study depicted that abuse adversely affects referees’ mental wellbeing and their intention to quit, with 67 per cent of referees having experienced an invasion of personal space and 45 per cent experiencing physical abuse.
NSW Head of Basketball Technical Officials and former NRL referee Steve Clark believes referees require more support from their seniors.
“We need to have more ref coaches available, supporting refs on every court, at every venue and if people are there from head office, in uniform, the bad behaviour tends to stop,” Mr Clark said.
Flynn Kearney agrees with this sentiment, saying that the support systems in place are underpowered.
“I had a supervisor to step in if things ever got out of control.
“Bu they had to monitor multiple games, so I had to deal with most of the issues myself.”
