Cardiff file official complaint to the URC over performance of officials

Cardiff have submitted an official complaint to the United Rugby Championship over the performance of the officials during their last-gasp 19-17 defeat to Ulster last Friday.

The Welsh club were leading with just minutes remaining and looked to have put the result beyond doubt when Theo Cabango touched down at the corner. But the try was disallowed and referee Mike Adamson awarded a penalty to Ulster after the television match official adjudged Rhys Carre had intentionally spilled the ball forward.

John Cooney's penalty attempt was successful, which gave Ulster victory. Even interim Ulster head coach Richie Murphy admitted Carre's knock on was not clear and obvious, going on to say the Irish province were fortunate to come out on top.

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What made matters worse is in the lead up to Ulster's only try of the game, scored by David McCann, Cooney had clearly knocked the ball forward. When it was pointed out to Adamson he claimed they could not do an official review because it was more than two phases before the try was scored.

But why didn't the TMO and the touch judge pick up on the knock on at the time? Also during the second-half, Cardiff looked odds on to score another try but the ball was kicked out of Thomas Young's hands in the act of scoring by replacement Ulster lock Cormac Izuchukwu.

The law states: "If a tackled player is in the act of reaching out to ground the ball for a try or touch down, defending players may knock the ball backwards, or pull the ball from the player's possession but must not kick or attempt to kick the ball." It was quite clear Izuchukwu had kicked the ball out of Young's hands, which by the letter of the law should have resulted in Cardiff being awarded a penalty try, yet neither Adamson or any of his officials picked up on it.

This isn't the first time a Welsh side has launched an official complaint over the performance of the referee and the rest of the officials in a URC clash played on Irish soil. There are many in the game who feel any constructive criticism of the officials is not listened to and brushed under the carpet.

When players are red carded they are given a ban and often have to attend tackle school, whereas there doesn't seem to be any consequence for officials who don't perform to the levels expected. Also, there are some Welsh players on variable contracts who could potentially have missed out on win bonuses because of blatantly incorrect calls by the officials. Consistent officiating mistakes are also leading to great frustration among supporters.

Of course, some decisions will always go against you but it is the inconsistency, often within the same game, which is one of the main areas of complaint with regards the level of officiating in the URC.