"Lord, I don't ask that I should win, but please, please don't let me finish behind Akabusi."
Rugby World Cup 2007
Love your neighbour as yourself. Matthew 22:39
Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. Romans 13:1
Last weekend saw a phenomenal series of games in the quarter-finals of the Rugby Union World Cup. All four games could have gone either way, and England beat Australia!
The game between the hosts France and the favourites, New Zealand was an end-to-end spectacle. New Zealand led 11-0, only for France to come back to win.... A crucial point in the game came when the referee yellow-carded a New Zealand player for blatant obstruction.
Next day the internet was filled with abusive comments about the referee. Threats were issued; a death-notice was posted. The referee's Wikipedia entry was changed to vilify him. Then the chairman of New Zealand Rugby weighed in: "Some of the referee's decisions had an enormous bearing on the outcome and some of the decisions were very, very questionable".
As a player (OK ex-player!) myself, I fully understand his frustration. But I was disappointed he expressed it as he did.
Of course they will get things wrong; they are only human. So do the players. The New Zealand chairman could equally have said that some of his players made questionable decisions which had enormous bearing on the outcome. It happens in every game!
As followers of Jesus in the world of sport we are to love our neighbour and that must include the referee. We are to respect the officials. We should pray for them and always seek to represent Christ in our dealings with them - whether as players, coaches, administrators or spectators.
My attitude to the match officials should be: how can I help the officials to produce a fair contest rather than how much can I get away with in today's game.
Stuart Weir