Johnny Sexton and Bundee Aki each having a go at referees are recent examples of a growing trend that must be harshly dealt with, according to MARK KEOHANE.

“Respect for referees has remained an unwritten rule throughout the rugby ages, and now is the time for the sport’s custodians to put it in writing,” Keohane writes in his TimesLive column. “Make it official. Give consequence to these on-the-field player outbursts.”

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In Leinster’s win against the Sharks last week, Sexton demanded referee Craig Evans red-card centre Rohan Janse van Rensburg for successive high shots, fellow Ireland back Bundee Aki confronted referee Gianluca Gnecchi after he was show red for a big cleanout on Stormers winger Seabelo Senatla, and Wallabies scrumhalf Nic White’s ill-tempered reaction to referee Mathieu Raynal penalising Bernard Foley for time-wasting in the first Bledisloe Cup Test of the year.

“The sport has lost so much in recent years, we cannot lose the character of the game that has always championed unreserved respect for the referee” writes Keohane. “That rugby has maintained this relationship with top match officials for so long makes it special and it is in stark contrast to the theatrics we see every weekend in various soccer leagues.

“The irony of all three incidents is that the referees all made the correct decisions, informing the players of exactly why the decisions were made. There have been many absurd referee calls throughout the history of the game, where players have kept their cool and the issues have been raised after the game. There needs to be zero tolerance on talk back to the referee and player petulance. Allow it for one and not another and you start digging the sport into a ditch that it can’t climb out of.”

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