Was I out of line?

[JustAFan]

After a recent college basketball game, I happened to run into one of the refs and I gave him (and his partners) a verbal pat on the back for doing such an outstanding job. Then later, the people I attended the game with told me that I had committed a major faux pas. They said that fans are not supposed to talk to refs at any time for any reason. Is this correct? If I was out of line, I won't do it again. Please advise!