Referees withdraw services for weekend after abuse
SATURDAY League referees are going on strike due to player dissent and this weekend's games will be played without any qualified officials.
The decision to strike has come about, according to league president Rod Hamon, due to 'abuse and threatening behaviour towards officials and opponents alike over recent weeks'.
And despite the league punishing the culprits with fines and suspensions, that has not acted as a sufficient deterrent and the decision has been made not to appoint any referees for this weekend.
Hamon said that although it is something he did not want to see happen, he thinks it is the right decision to make.
'Referees are not prepared to be the easy target of/for players any more when they feel things are not going their way,' he said.
'We have handed out warnings time and time again that the referees in the league could and would withdraw their services for at least one weekend if fines and suspensions were not enough to alleviate the problems of dissent and abuse towards them.
'None of those several warnings have been taken any notice of and therefore the threat is to be carried out this coming Saturday.
'I remember the GFA doing the same thing some years ago and I have to say it is disheartening and disappointing that it has come to this in the social league.'
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