 Most matches employed a senior referee ("summa rudis") and an assistant, shown in mosaics with long staffs ("rudes") to caution or separate opponents at some crucial point in the match.Referees were usually retired gladiators whose decisions, judgement and discretion were, for the most part, respected; they could stop bouts entirely, or pause them to allow the combatants rest, refreshment and a rub-down.Ludi and "munera" were accompanied by music, played as interludes, or building to a "frenzied crescendo" during combats, perhaps to heighten the suspense during a gladiator's appeal; blows may have been accompanied by trumpet-blasts.