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Sanzar rugby officials will decide whether to take any action against Tana Umaga for his parting shot at the standard of Super 14 refereeing.
The Sydney-based Sanzar secretariat administers the competition on behalf of the South African, Australian and New Zealand rugby unions.
The revered former All Blacks
skipper, who played his last Super 14 match in the 14-38 loss to the Waratahs in Wellington on Saturday, said after the game that southern hemisphere referees were struggling.
"I think referees in this part of the world are lacking," Umaga said.
"Unfortunately referees in the northern hemisphere are better, which is sad to see.
"They have a better empathy for the game up there and something needs to be done.
"Apart from Jonathan Kaplan (South Africa), everyone is struggling and New Zealand and Australian referees are struggling."
He said referees should be more accountable and should face the media and explain their decisions.
Umaga said he was speaking out as he had only a domestic season to complete and it was not healthy to have players muzzled during competition for fear of upsetting sponsors and employers.
"I believe I'm at a stage that I can speak out and I can take the (financial fine for speaking out) if it comes."
New Zealand Rugby Union deputy chief executive Steve Tew said today that a copy of Umaga's comments had been sent to Super 14 organisers Sanzar yesterday.
"His views on referees is entirely his, (but) the form in which he expresses it though, is what we would be concerned about," Tew told Radio Sport.
"We have actually forwarded all the information from his outburst on Saturday night to Sanzar who are the party who have jurisdiction over the competition."
The Sanzar secretariat was the body responsible to deal with it and they would make a decision, he said.
He hoped Sanzar "will be on to it this week".
However, Umaga's comments have not been taken badly by International Rugby Board head of referees Paddy O'Brien who said southern hemisphere whistleblowers compared well to their northern counterparts.
Umaga's comments needed to be taken in context.
"He's just come off a loss in his last game. It's very easy for players and coaches to hide a poor performance behind the referee.
"He has been one of the great players in the Super 14 and is entitled to have that view, but there was probably a bit of emotion involved," O'Brien said.
- NZPA
