Ivan Richards springs out of bed every winter Saturday morning and gets himself ready for another game and another round of abuse. The long-serving Otago referee will box up his whistle at the end of the season. He has been refereeing for 40 years. Forty. That deserves its own line. The 69-year-old has put more back into the game than just about anybody and he does not regret a day of it — not even the cold, wet afternoons. He contacted the  Otago Daily Times  about his impending retirement, not to draw attention to himself, but because he is on a crusade to recruit new referees and remind a minority of spectators to stay respectful. ‘‘I think one of the things that's changed over the years is we seem to have lost our respect for each other,’’ the retired fireman said. ‘‘And one of the sad things is that we struggle to hold on to referees because they get an earful and that seems to be the end of it.’’ ‘‘Why would you give up your time to be abused?…