LIAM DEL CARME | Documentary lifts the lid on the men in the middle

Referees have for too long operated in the shadows.

Now, however, there are genuine attempts to portray them as human beings and not just objects that sign up for abuse, whether from within, or outside rugby.

In the documentary Whistleblowers, World Rugby seeks to lift the veil on the world of referees, so long hidden from public view.

The documentary by-and-large gives an unvarnished account of life behind the scenes during last year’s Rugby World Cup in France.

Whistleblowers opens to the door to the often misunderstood world of referees. It brings a human touch to an area of the game where cold hard facts rule.

Referees, for their own protection, and perhaps sanity, tend to exist in a bubble during major tournaments but the documentary gives a fly-on-the-wall account of what happens between matches by shining a light on how they prepare, what they do to relax. Moreover, it lays bare their anxieties in the build-up to matches and their vulnerabilities in the aftermath.

The one-hour-18 minute programme also provides examples of the online abuse officials suffer.

The opening sequence delivers a punch to the gut, if not the face.

The scene features the game’s most experienced referee Wayne Barnes sitting in a dimly lit hotel room reading a post on his wife's Instagram account. It was in fact directed at him.

If a rugby sanction could be imposed on the post it would scream “RED”.

The game is not what it used to be and match officials are candid about the fact that they get things wrong.

It goes beyond hate speech and reflects the toxicity that has become pervasive in the sport.

“F**k you and your husband, you f**king bitch,” the post read. “Pass on the message that your husband and kids watch carefully. Wayne Barnes I hope your whole family dies in a house fire.”

Not exactly the lively banter you’d expect in a sport that upholds values such as integrity, solidarity, discipline and respect.

South Africa’s top referee, Jaco Peyper, who recently announced his retirement, doesn’t just cop abuse online but has had to temporarily remove his daughters from school in the face of abuse. Basically his daughters’ classmates repeat what they’ve heard from their parents when they’ve disapproved of Peyper’s on-field decisions.

No wonder the game’s decisionmakers threw a protective blanket over their officials but that has served to be counterproductive in the long run.

The world of match officials has for long been viewed as a secret society that is a law unto itself. That they set the rules of engagement with the wider world is certainly true, but there is not doubt they exist in a system that strives for excellence through constant improvement. The rest of the rugby ecosystem may be in a froth that the book is not thrown often enough at errant match officials and how appointments are made but generally speaking, the cream tends to rise to the top.

The game is not what it used to be and match officials are candid about the fact that they get things wrong.

In Whistleblowers Kiwi ref Ben O’Keefe, who was the man in charge of the Springboks’ win over France in the quarterfinals, admits rugby’s too fast and too dynamic and that referees need another set of eyes.

A referee’s world may seem a lonely place when things go wrong but at least in a big tournament anyway, they have each other. “It is important we are there for each other.” said O’Keefe about the camaraderie that exists between the officials.

Sure referees travel the world and live in relative luxury, but their task is largely thankless.

Barnes, the retreating elder statesman, summed it up. “People don’t understand, this is bloody hard job.”