Another weekend of Betfred Super League action, and yet again we are all talking about the video ref and the controversy it causes, however I believe it has now reached a whole new level of absolutely unacceptable and needs serious review, before being ditched, permanently.

Unfortunately, the governing body of our game is fast becoming a dictatorship, based simply on the absolutely disgusting level of match officiating in our top flight, it was already critical before this season started, and has now reached a level of genuine either incompetence or just plain corruption.

I could face serious trouble for what I’m going to say, or have already said in this article, I am, after all an RFL accredited journalist, but for the sake of the game I love, as well as my own sanity, I believe these things need to be said and need addressing as a matter of urgency.

I did not watch the game at Castleford yesterday, I was driving home from Warrington at the time, however, when I got home I saw absolute uproar all over social media about how the home team had been robbed of a victory against the current champions, thanks in no small part to a controversial call made by video referee Aaron Moore.

I also saw some Castleford fans asking the question if they would all chip in to pay the incoming hefty fine that coach Danny McGuire is likely to be handed for his comments after said game and today I finally saw the video of said interviewand a video of the incident he was asked to comment on.

What I saw and heard genuinely shocked me, it was a thoroughly disgusting decision by Wigan-born Aaron Moore, which undoubtedly benefited his hometown team and just went to prove, beyond any doubt whatsoever that the video ref is a complete, shambolic, pitiful waste of time and money.

To say there was nothing in the action by Harry Smith, who blatantly pulled an opposing player back, was absolutely beyond disgraceful, and as a journalist it is my job to point out what is in the public interest and to pose the questions that others don’t want to answer.

But, what I can also say is that this isn’t the only incident that proves that the video ref is not fit for purpose, I might also point out an incident with the Wigan number 7 at the same ground last year, a week before the World Club Challenge, in which he dumped Luke Hooley on his head and only received a yellow card, and no ban in the following week, leading up to that match.

There are innumerable more incidents that I could refer to over many years, all of which prove the point I’m making here, but then there is another factor to consider here.

Last week, I was reporting on the Hull FC match at Salford, another game where clearly another mistake was made in disallowing a try to Davy Litten, because the video ref couldn’t prove that he got the ball down before the touch in goal line after a Salford player failed to kick the ball dead, an incident that I, along with many other journalists could see clearly and which convinced everyone present that it was a try, before it was chalked off.

However, we couldn’t see the process of the video ref, because there was no big screen, simply because the Red Devils can’t afford it at the moment, which also got me thinking, the RFL want to see good financial management from clubs, part of their IMG Grading is based around just that, and yet clubs are expected to fork out huge amounts of money for what is essentially a television gimmick.

I don’t know how much it costs, but my guess is that it is at least a six-figure sum of money that it costs to have a big screen, for something which one referee just proved is absolutely not fit for the purpose it was initially intended.

I would also point out, since the introduction of it, there have been several inconclusive Captain’s Challenges, another gimmick which is proving to be largely a complete waste of time, because effectively you’re asking two people to referee a game, rather than the one referee with which the sport thrived for however many decades before Sky Sports took control.

The plain and simple facts also extend to the appointment of match officials, because a match official MUST NEVER, EVER be able to officiate a match which his hometown club is involved in, it is simply ripe for corruption (the Jake Wardle ‘try’ in the WCC anyone?)

I believe the appointment of hometown match officials maybe is necessitated by the lack of match officials, however, consider ditching the video ref and suddenly the demand for referees (in the middle, in the video booth and in reserve) immediately drops by a 3rd of the amount required.

Surely, with touch judges and in-goal judges we already have enough eyes on the action anyway, and ditching the video ref would free up officials, so there is a naturally larger pot of referees available, therefore reducing the need to appoint referees to games that involve their hometown clubs.

Another point is inevitably that, with the vast reduction of television money, clubs need to save more money, not spend beyond their means and end up in the current situation at Salford, or how Bradford Bulls and various others have ended up and getting rid of the big screen would be a big saving for every club, while dispensing with a gimmick that simply doesn’t work.

All the controversial calls, like the one at Castleford yesterday, have just gone to prove that the video ref, for various different reasons, is a complete waste of time and money and it’s time to get rid of it, while also stopping referees handling games that involve their hometown team.

As a journalist myself, I am regularly in the company of players and coaches, they’re very regular acquaintances for myself and many other people involved in the game, including match officials. There are certain players at Hull FC who I can definitely count as friends, people who I speak to regularly and it is absolutely undoubted that match officials will be able to say the very same about players and staff at their hometown clubs, that’s just the nature of the beast, it is absolutely unavoidable.

Finally, I believe the video ref is a luxury of sorts, one that the game simply can’t afford. It is also useless to me as a journalist, because on many occasions I have had to ask questions of coaches and players alike, and they’ve had to tell me that they can’t afford to give the answers they actually want to give, because of the fear of how much they will subsequently get fined by the governing body, freedom of speech, anyone!?

Written by Ian Judson (Site contributor & Hull FC fan)