Lefty, you've just mentioned Gerry Kershaw and my blood ran cold, how many times did that man shaft us!

John Holdsworth was my fave ref (if you can have such a thing) of yesteryear. He wasn't biased particularly but blimey could that guy play to the galleries.

His arm signals to wave play on would have brought a tear to the eye of Lawrence Olivier and had the Old Vic audience in raptures. And if the BBC cameras were in town he couldn't have been more theatrical if he'd come out in tights clutching a skull and reciting Hamlet.

Now we get incompetent blandsville residents in terminator headgear.

I was there too. Money must have changed hands that day. Unless he was...erm....I better not say

He leaned towards Leeds I think. He put his residential as Kippax as opposed to Leeds so he could ref them.

Its like saying you live in Lymm Village as opposed to Warrington Borough.

That's how I remember Holdsworth...I thought he was a decent ref, plus he didn't mind getting in the middle of "set too"

got right in the middle of Boyd and Hanley in Millwakee as well

[Then Billy Thompson cheated, quite why or how I have no idea but never ever have I seen something like that on a sporting field since.

The story I heard at the time was that Hull were considering starting another team, called Hull White Star ( I think) and that Thompson was lined up to be a director of the new club (allegedly) .

Thompson became a life member of Hull FC.
I vaguely remember the Hull White Star team too.
About the same time as Kent Invicta started up? ?

Terrible decision by Russell Smith, I'm still not over that 20 years on!

I disbelieve that referees are biased in the modern era, but that day we were straight up robbed.

I would NEVER kick the dog.

When I saw the title of this thread I immediately thought of Billy Thompson and that cup game with Hull.
I have seen some atrocious decisions over the years, including the one by Russell Smith against Wigan. Many of them could, at a stretch, be interpreted as bad judgement, but Billy Thompson that night was patently dishonest.
I do not know any other referee whose decision making has affected the result to such an extent. He should have worn a mask. An absolute disgrace.

The Wigan one I remember being in the Fletch and at the final hooter just been stood in shock for a few moments thinking WTF happened there.

As for Ref David Campbell he was ref once for Priestley v Widnes college and lost control of it.

I remember my cousin playing for Leigh Town team once, he scored 4 tries, all chalked off. All of them completely legit, the last one the most blatant bit of cheating ever.

1st one foot in touch, the TJ didn't put his flag up but the ref saw it
2nd and 3rd one foot dead in goal which was nonsense as he was nowhere near.
4th one, 40 metres out from the try line, broke the line, side stepped the fullback went under the sticks.
Ref said he failed to ground it correctly, cousin threw the ball at him called him a cheat, sent off.

....was Billy Thompson that ref too?!!