Veteran referee Matt Cecchin has explained that he will hang up his whistle at the end of the season.
The 48-year-old adjudicator cited issues with confidence and an inability to be selected for headline clashes as his reasons for calling time on his 21-year career.
Speaking with The Sydney Morning Herald, Cecchin also revealed that fears for his safety were another key element for departing the game at season's end.
In a piece submitted by journalist Andrew Webster on Tuesday morning, Cecchin disclosed that he was fearful to leave his hotel room after making a contentious decision in the recent Cronulla and Newcastle contest.
Cecchin stated that after awarding a late penalty to the Knights in the Round 22 clash -a game that the Novacastrians eventually won by two-points - he felt trepidation about freely walking around his lodgings due to Sharks steward Josh Hannay's scathing comments in his post-match press conference.
The authoritative figure that began his stint as a first-grade arbitrator in 2001 told Webster that his decision to remain behind his door was made as the Sharks were sharing the same complex as he and his partner, Brent.
“I didn’t leave my hotel room because I was scared,” Cecchin expounded.
“Not because I felt threatened, but I wanted to prevent any incident that could make it a drama. Nobody gave me that feeling, but I didn’t want someone to make a comment in a lift or the foyer."
With his decision to penalize the shire side arising from an act that could have been left unpunished, the adjudicator of three Grand Finals explained that his confidence in his own abilities had recently begun to erode.
“I know it was a 50-50 call," Cecchin continued.
"The thing is three years ago I wouldn’t have lost a minute of sleep. But that night was shocking. I didn’t sleep that night or the night after. I felt more responsible than I should’ve been.
"When you’re younger, you look for the big decisions to show everyone you can do it. I’m running around now thinking I just want to get through it.”
Cecchin had previously made the decision to walk away from the game after receiving death threats during a World Cup contest in 2017.
However, the first openly gay Rugby League personality since Ian Roberts was coaxed back after his bid to begin refereeing in the Super League fell over due to bureaucratic reasons.
With this weekend almost certain to present him with his 571st and final professional refereeing assignment, Cecchin told Webster that the game had become much tougher to remain in control of in recent years.
“The game is way more technical,” he said.
“The difficulty now is the contradiction between what the game wants from the referee and what it expects.
"On one hand, they want extreme accuracy [and are scrutinised by] nine cameras and super-slo-mo. But they also don’t want the game to be decided by a referee unless he absolutely must.
“If you want the referee to be black-and-white, that’s easy to officiate. We can be robots and blow 30 penalties. When we don’t referee like that, the game is great entertainment. Do we let things flow and become less accurate, but at the same time be fair? That’s the art of refereeing. That’s what most people want.”
Many believe that the code will be losing an important figure once this weekend draws to a close, as Cecchin has often been cited has having a great 'feel' for the game.
Still, the man who is set to embark on the next chapter of his life sees it differently and said that a shift in mindset meant that it was time to leave the game's fold.
“When you feel like you’re just making up the numbers, week after week, it gets tricky,” Cecchin said.
“It’s hard to stay up when you don’t have the carrot of the big games like you once did.
"For the last year and a half, I’ve been trying to hold on to my reputation with the players and coaches. It wasn’t to be in the Grand Final or State of Origin, as it has been in the past. It’s important for me to be remembered by players and coaches as I am now.”
According to Webster, Cecchin had been the main adjudicator in 370 first-grade games, with a further 200-appearances coming as a touch judge or video referee.
The mental health ambassador was also tasked with controlling four Origin contests, 13 test matches and the aforementioned trifecta of Grand Finals.
