rules have to be followed by anyone. no exceptions.
so the rules says "no referrals" you have to follow it regardless of your content (as shorena said: sometimes only the ref link is removed by staff - which MAY indicate that your post was not that good. impossible to judge though as i didnt see it)
Well, if that's the case then there was no need to invent words like "rebel" or "retaliation" or "raising voice" etc