BY JOHN DAVIDSON
The RFL has still not completed its internal review into its head of match officials Steve Ganson, nearly seven months after it began.
The review started in mid-January this year after several former referees spoke out about the culture inside the department.
Ex-match official James Child wrote in Forty20 magazine: “The internal pressure and criticism, all the threats, swearing and shouting however, that grows tiresome and sport – including officiating – relies heavily on confidence.
“If you’ve got 26 players and 10,000 people in a stadium questioning your decisions, you’ve got to have confidence in what you are doing. If you feel as though that’s being eroded internally as well, you do start to wonder who has got your back.”
Former referee Richard Silverwood tweeted that Ganson “has made many officials walk away from something they love” in January, while in the past ex-referee George Stokes described to League Weekly a culture of homophobia inside the RFL’s match officials department.
Ganson has been in charge of the department since 2016.
rugbyleaguehub.com Long Reads was told by the RFL today that there was still no update on the result of the review into Ganson.
Back in January when the review began the RFL released a statement that said: “Steve Ganson will not be carrying out his role as Head of Match Officials at the current time, pending the completion of an internal review.
“Currently, it is expected that this will be temporary and the RFL will make no further comment until that review is complete.
“Dave Elliott, the former Warrington and Cumbria player who has been the Match Officials Senior Coach since early 2021 having previously worked in the England Performance Unit, will lead the Match Officials department while the review is ongoing and will be supported in his role by the RFL’s Chief On-Field Officer, Dave Rotheram.”
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