Duendin umpire Jono Bredin has capped off a controversial campaign by being appointed to control his third straight ANZ Championship final in Brisbane on Sunday.
Bredin, the top-ranked Kiwi umpire, was heavily criticised on social media by fans who felt he wrongfully penalised the Central Pulse in the dying stages of two matches against the Southern Steel this season.
Bredin deleted his Twitter account, and league officials beefed up security around him and the competition's other umpires.
Some questioned whether it was fair Bredin, the Dunedin Netball chairman, was allowed to umpire the Steel, insisting there was a conflict of interest.
There was also an incident between Pulse captain Katrina Grant and Bredin after the Steel scored a late goal to draw 55-55 last month.
Grant took exception to a Bredin call and expressed her disgust after the fulltime whistle. It is understood some of the language used was bordering on abusive, and Grant was given a warning and a suspended ban after being found in breach of the league's code of conduct.
She has since apologised to Bredin, who said being appointed to his third straight final justified his performances.
''I guess what it's highlighted for me is what I was holding on to all along, that the people that counted in judging my performances obviously recognised the fact that I umpired at a level that I'm considered the best man in the job,'' Bredin said.
''I'd be lying if I didn't say there were challenges. I just worked through the processes each week to make sure I was going to be performing at a consistently high level, and that's obviously what I have done.''
Bredin confirmed the security measures put in place for him and other umpires last month were still in place.
He was reluctant to say more about the abuse and threats he received on social media, but he was not surprised people took to social media to criticise umpires.
''I know that if you're in the public domain there are some add-ons. I fully appreciate that,'' he said.
''I guess one learning from the whole thing is it's really important to have some good support systems and mental toughness to enable you to be performing at your best from one week to the next, regardless of what's happening around you.''
Bredin, who will umpire at his second Netball World Cup in Sydney in August, did not want to go into detail on the ''conflict of interest'' issue.
However, he said Dunedin Netball's job was to run a club competition in Dunedin, and there was ''no direct involvement'' with the Southern Steel.
New Zealand ANZ Championship operations manager Kate Agnew told the Otago Daily Times last month the league did not believe his role compromised his ability to umpire in the ANZ Championship, and said people having multiple roles in netball was ''quite a common thing''.
Bredin is now focusing on umpiring the final between the Firebirds and Swifts on Sunday, followed by the World Cup next month. Before deciding on his future beyond that, he will sit down with his league coach and some mentors to review the season.
