Former Broncos and Queensland star Ben Ikin has issued a strong defence of junior referees.
The current CEO of the Queensland Rugby League has implored parents, spectators and team officials to clean up—and call out—abusive sideline behaviour, or face the risk of young match officials being bullied out of the game.
As reported in the Courier Mail, the problem of sideline abuse was thrust back into the spotlight last weekend when a teenage girl refereeing a junior game on the Gold Coast was forced from the field in tears.
Far from an isolated incident, nor one confined to Queensland, Ikin believes behavioural issues are on the rise, calling for urgent change to protect the future of the game at a time when the QRL is seeing an increasing trend of officials in the junior ranks quitting.
MORE: Broncos season hamstrung in Storm disaster—where now for Michael Maguire?
‘The truth is, no referees, no game’
“Some of the things our young referees are having to put up with are best described as ‘unsafe’,” Ikin said.
“We have adults turning up to junior footy on the weekends and behaving in a way that can only be described as shameful.
“We have a lot of brave kids who sign up to do this job every year, if we don’t support them the right way then they will be less and less inclined to want to do it—and the truth is, no referees, no game.”
Ikin went on to explain that the priority for kids’ sport at the community level must be giving all participants a fun and safe experience, free from abuse and pressure.
“The parent can’t give the kid what the kid hasn’t already got,” Ikin said bluntly.
“Just give the kids a fun and safe experience with their friends and the ones that are good enough will find their way into the elite game.
“The kids who don’t make it, but have a great time, will still love the game and probably become our next generation of volunteers.
“That’s how the game keeps growing.”
A 2024 study by the University of South Australia found that an alarming 69% of youth athletes aged 12-17 years had experienced some form of negative behaviour from their parents when playing.