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PETER SMITH: Fans' fury tarnish image of friendly Tigers
THE Jungle is usually a fun place to watch rugby league, but a darker side was exposed last weekend.
The reaction from some fans to a series of controversial decisions by the match officials during Castleford Tigers' 22-20 defeat by Les Catalans Dragons was way over the top and completely unacceptable.
Bottles were thrown from the stands on to the pitch and Catalans players were showered with beer following the final hooter.
That was bad enough, but scenes after the participants had left the field were worse.
A large crowd gathered outside the changing rooms, chanting abuse and threats towards referee Ian Smith and Phil Bentham, who was his video assistant.
The officials remained in their changing room for a while and then were escorted out of the ground via a back route by Tigers stewards.
It took around an hour for the crowd to disperse, many of them hanging around waiting for Smith to put in an appearance long after he had gone.
Fortunately, no members of the crowd managed to get anywhere near Smith or Bentham after the match and no lasting harm was done, other than to Tigers' reputation.
There were allegations afterwards that certain Catalans players had made offensive gestures towards the crowd – though whether that was before or after the beer throwing is unclear.
Though some fans also accused a steward of kicking or throwing a bottle back into the stand at the Wheldon Road end of the ground, from what this reporter saw, the stewards around the changing room area handled a difficult situation in a professional manner and it's to their credit that things didn't get even more out of hand.
Feelings were high and it wouldn't have taken much to spark a mass punch-up. In the confined spaces at Tigers' out-of-date ground, that could have been disastrous.
The RFL are investigating and Tigers themselves are looking at whether they can do things better on match days, though their hands are tied by the design of their current stadium.
It is hard to imagine something similar happening at a modern ground such at the Galpharm or KC Stadium.
To their credit, Cas have condemned the actions of a group of their supporters and pledged to ban anyone identified as having thrown a bottle on to the pitch.
Alcohol was definitely a factor on Saturday – a warm day with a 6pm kick-off and with cheap beer promotions on offer inside the ground. That's something Cas officials will have to consider carefully.
Incidents like this aren't unique. A section of Leeds Rhinos fans disgraced themselves a few years ago when they threw bottles and other objects on to the pitch at Castleford after a controversial, narrow defeat.
But the level of anger directed at Smith on Saturday was unusual. Chants of "cheat" and a few verbals as the referee left the pitch sadly weren't out of the ordinary, but for the discontent to linger for so long after the final hooter was unexpected.
The main bone of contention was his decision to award two debatable tries to Catalans without reference to the video referee.
Smith used Bentham to decide on two of Tigers' three tries – and they had two more ruled out by the video official. There were also complaints about a penalty awarded against Rangi Chase for a voluntary tackle which led to Dragons' crucial fourth touchdown late in the game.
It's easy to get worked up in the heat of the moment, but once things calmed down most Tigers fans would probably have accepted that Smith got the majority of his calls right.
Even if he hadn't, he should have been able to have his post-match meal and walk to his car unmolested.
Criticism is fair enough, if it's backed up by the facts, but respect for referees is an integral part of rugby league and it's something which needs to be protected.
Smith didn't cost Tigers the game. Cas coach Terry Matterson was big enough to admit in the post-match press conference that his side were the cause of their downfall, spilling too much ball and missing chances after racing into an early 10-0 lead.
Matterson did feel that Smith should have referred Catalans' two contentious tries to the video official, though had he done so, both would almost certainly have been awarded.
Bentham's decisions to rule out tries by Richard Owen and Michael Shenton were spot on – and in fact Catalans could argue that there was an obstruction in the build-up to Tigers' third touchdown, which the video referee awarded.
But the point Matterson was making is that if the technology is there, why not use it? Ironically, less than 24 hours before the match, Bradford Bulls boss Steve McNamara had been bemoaning the fact that his team's clash with Leeds Rhinos hadn't been televised.
Bulls winger Rikkie Sheriffe had a late score ruled out by a touch judge. Sheriffe was adamant the try should have been awarded and the decision would almost certainly have been handed on in a TV game, though replays suggest it was an excellent call by the match official.
The fact that video technology is only available at a limited number of games – two Super League matches per round if Catalans are away – means it's not an even playing field. There's a strong argument that technology should be rolled out for all matches – which would be prohibitively expensive – or scrapped altogether.
When it comes to use of the video, referees are damned if they do and damned if they don't. Smith had the courage to back himself and he deserves credit for that.
He may not have had the best of games, but it wasn't the worst performance by an official this season and the reaction to it is the sort of thing which would make some referees simply walk away.
Referees' boss Stuart Cummings has a problem. Obviously fans can't dictate who gets to officiate, but it would be inflammatory to send Smith back to the Jungle in the near future.
Whatever the outcome of the inquiry, the actions of a group of fans has tarnished the reputation of what is generally one of the friendliest clubs in the top flight.
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Saturday 26 May 2012
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