Protocols for Club Referees (and other Match Officials)

It is not only East Midlands Referee Society members who are suffering abuse from players, spectators, parents or coaches: it is also club referees etc.

Do your club managers know what to do if this happens to your volunteer referees? They are protected under the RFU’s Match Official Abuse procedures as much as are any referee society officials.

It is a relatively simple process to take action:

• Ask the abused person to make a note of as much detail as possible about the words used and the actions taken by the abuser.
• Persuade them to show how they felt after the abuse.
• Contact the General Secretary of East Midlands Referees for guidance at secretary@eastmidsrefs.com

Your club volunteers need support if this happens to them. If the club takes no action it might result in their not continuing in this rol