There is a common saying that the best refereeing performance is the one nobody notices. They enforce the rules and punish unacceptable behaviour, but ultimately an official’s job is to let the game flow and not become the story.
But after months of trying to resolve their latest dispute with Football Australia, 96 of Australia’s top football referees are a big story – they have withdrawn their services indefinitely, adding their own chapter to a wider narrative about the slow implosion of the Australian game.
