New Zealand Rugby boss condemns ‘concerning trend’ after World Cup final TMO steps back
New Zealand Rugby chief executive Mark Robinson.
New Zealand Rugby (NZR) has come out strongly against the abuse of referees after another match official has decided to leave the international game following the recent Rugby World Cup final.
Earlier in the week, English referee Tom Foley, who was the television match official (TMO) during the final, announced that he is taking a break from Test rugby.
Foley cited the abuse he received after the World Cup final in which South Africa claimed a narrow 12-11 victory over New Zealand at the Stade de France in Paris.
The 38-year-old, who has been a match official for more than 10 years, was busy during the match and was forced to intervene on several occasions. Foley was part of an all-English team of officials which also featured Wayne Barnes as referee and Karl Dickson and Matthew Carley as his assistants.
Death threats to Barnes and Foley
After the final, it was revealed that Barnes received death threats, and Foley also confirmed recently that he was subjected to similar abuse.
Barnes has long been the target of abuse from New Zealanders after he missed a forward pass during the All Blacks’ 2007 Rugby World Cup quarter-final loss to France.
Speaking after the NZR’s final board meeting of the year, the governing body’s chief executive, Mark Robinson condemned the abuse of match officials and said there is no place for it in the game, regardless of level.
“We’re like all other leadership in the game, we just think it’s unacceptable,” Robinson told Newshub. “It’s a concerning trend in the game at the moment.
“There’s certainly some work going on behind the scenes as to what we can do to that, as it relates to social media.
“We certainly don’t tolerate it; we don’t support it. We want to work hard with all officials across the game to make sure they’re well supported.”
The abuse of match officials is not restricted to international rugby. In July, New Zealand referee Ben O’Keeffe revealed he also received death threats after a decision he made went against the Chiefs when they were beaten by the Crusaders in the Super Rugby Pacific final.
O’Keeffe also received social media abuse during this year’s World Cup as fans from tournament hosts France targeted him after their defeat to South Africa in their quarter-final in Paris.
Happy with the standard of refereeing
Robinson, though, outlined NZR’s belief in its current group of officials and the faith they have in those coming through the pathways in their system.
“Whenever we speak in a public or stakeholder forum, we are behind our officials every step of the way,” he added. “We’ve got amazing match officials here in New Zealand, we’ve got a world-leading group coming through at the moment that we’re massively excited about over the next four-year cycle.
“We want to do everything we can to resource and support them, coach them, give them all the different tools they can to be successful – both domestically and internationally.
“But that’s for more work behind closed doors, in some of those wider forums to take place.”