To the editor,
It has become a disturbingly common sight at soccer fields and arenas across the country: referees being yelled at, insulted, demeaned, and bullied for simply doing their jobs.
What’s even more troubling is that often this behaviour isn’t coming from teenagers caught in the heat of the moment, or parents lost in emotion.
It’s coming from professionals – people who, in their daily lives, carry titles such as teachers, social workers, business owners, health professionals, and community leaders.
These are individuals who, Monday to Friday, work with people in respectful, regulated settings. Yet when Saturday rolls around, they step onto the sidelines of a soccer field and shed every ounce of decency and professionalism.
They scream at referees over a missed call. They demean them for enforcing rules. They harass them as if the official’s only purpose is to be their personal target of ridicule. Then they go home, change out of their coaching clothes, and resume their “professional” identity.
Imagine if the same thing happened to them at work. What if someone stood over them at their desk, ridiculing every keystroke, calling them incompetent, and questioning their judgment and ethics repeatedly in front of colleagues and clients? What if someone threatened them over their decisions, or forced them to feel unsafe in their workplace?
The reality is that referees are humans too, working within a rule-bound system to do the job they were assigned. They deserve the same respect.
This toxic culture of referee abuse has become normalized in sports. It’s often brushed off as “part of the game” – but it isn’t.
Bullying is bullying. Harassment is harassment. Whether it happens on a field, in an office, on a construction site, or in a hospital, the impact is the same: trauma, mental health harm, and loss of confidence.
In the case of referees, it is leading to an exodus of officials from the sport altogether, leaving games uncovered and youth sports development harmed at its roots.
It is tormenting to witness individuals who present themselves in the community as upstanding professionals act like bullies on the field. Their behaviour contradicts every ethical standard they claim to uphold.
The field does not give immunity to decency. Being unable to control yourself in the emotionally charged environment of a soccer game does not excuse disrespect. If anything, it shows a deep lack of emotional regulation – something every profession values in its employees.
Ending referee abuse is not just the responsibility of those doing the yelling. It takes an entire team to change a culture.
Just because you aren’t part of the bullying doesn’t mean you can’t be part of ending it.
Standing silently while others harass officials only allows the behaviour to continue. Every player, coach, manager, and spectator has a role in creating an environment where respect is the standard and abuse is not tolerated.
Imagine if teammates spoke up when someone crossed the line. Imagine if coaches corrected players who hurled insults instead of ignoring it.
Change begins when bystanders become upstanders.
To those who choose to berate referees, know this: your actions are noticed. Your players see you. The community sees you. And the referees you degrade go home carrying the weight of your words. If you cannot control your behaviour on the field, then perhaps you should not be out there at all.
Bullying is never acceptable. It's time to hold every coach, player, and spectator to the same standard of respect that we expect in every other facet of life.
Leni Mazzuca is a longtime referee who was born and raised in the Sault. Mazzuca refs for Sault youth and Northern heights soccer, and is a mental health professional who has worked locally for almost 25 years.