World Rugby match officials boss hits out at Antoine Dupont for post-World Cup remarks

World Rugby’s head of match officials Joel Jutge has condemned France captain Antoine Dupont for his remarks following Les Bleus’ Rugby World Cup exit.

Following France’s 29-28 loss to South Africa in the quarter-finals of the World Cup, Dupont questioned the quality of the officiating during the post-match press conference.

Nearly three months after the game, Jutge has now hit out at the Les Bleus scrum-half for his remarks in an interview with French publication Midi Olympique.

Referee was not ‘up to the challenge’

Dupont was questioned about referee Ben O’Keeffe’s performance after the defeat and said: “What did you think from the outside? It’s hard to say because there’s a lot of disappointment and frustration.

“We want to see the images again – which will give us even more disappointment and even more frustration – but I think some clear and obvious things weren’t whistled.

“I don’t know if the match was lost at that point, but at crucial moments, we could have had a penalty. When you’ve gone forward 60 metres and you’re slowed down in the rucks, it’s pretty easy to whistle. I don’t want to sound bitter, moaning about the refereeing because we lost the match, but I’m not sure the refereeing was up to the challenge.

“That doesn’t take anything away from the South Africans’ great game, who got on top of us at the breakdown. They played a great game.”

Jutge has now spoken out about Dupont’s comments, which ultimately led to O’Keeffe being the subject of online abuse.

“As I am responsible for the referees, I cannot endorse what Antoine Dupont said because it gave rise to a terrible wave of abuse and hatred online towards Ben,” he told Midi Olympique.

“But I know the man, and I have no doubt about his moral values ​​and the way he perceives the exchanges between referees and players. He is a huge champion and a good person we respect, but I repeat, I do not condone what he said that day, even if we know that he was under enormous pressure to return following his injury.”

Safety of the referees

Jutge added that he was worried about the safety of the referees during the Rugby World Cup, particularly after the eventual champions South Africa knocked France out.

“I had anticipated that if France were eliminated in the quarter-finals, it would be difficult for us because of the emotion it would arouse,” he said.

“To be honest, I had thought that it would perhaps be necessary to be able to physically protect our referees because I felt a rift coming with this very strong enthusiasm behind the XV of France.

“It was not necessary because the security at the Stade de France works very well, but we must not hide that the days following the quarter-final were difficult.”

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