Organisational culture, non-reporting of abuse and discontinuation: implications for match officials and administrators

Sports match officials are essential to uphold and maintain the laws of the game and to facilitate competitive sport. Consequently, the effective management and leadership of these match officials across sport is essential in order for sport to occur. This chapter focuses on the organisational culture that match officials operate within and how a culture of abuse can impact upon their performance. The behaviour and actions of those in management and leadership roles are considered, particularly following incidents of abuse towards match officials. The chapter also considers the non-reporting of incidents of abuse by referees and umpires, amid concerns regarding the intention of match officials to leave their respective sports and the associated consequences that any such action might have on the sport in question.