Wayne Barnes announces retirement

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 Steve@Mose wrote:

Wayne Barnes: Rugby World Cup final referee on social media abuse he and family faced

 Former rugby union referee Wayne Barnes says people "don't see the human side of refereeing" after describing the online abuse he and his family faced following the World Cup final.

Barnes retired a few days after taking charge of South Africa's 12-11 win over New Zealand in the final in Paris.

His wife, Polly, previously said Barnes received death threats after the match.

"When people make threats against your wife and kids, they should be held to account and punished," Barnes said.

Barnes has taken charge of a record 111 Tests, which included officiating at five World Cups.

He sent off New Zealand captain Sam Cane for a first-half high tackle in the final as South Africa retained their title.

In his first interview since announcing his retirement, Barnes said he believed social media abuse was getting worse.

"Threats of sexual violence, threats of saying we know where you live. It crosses that line," he told BBC sports editor Dan Roan.

"Social media is getting worse and it's the sad thing about the sport at the moment. It has not been a one-off.

"I'm on social media for numerous reasons. One is to promote the charitable work I do and to also promote officiating and to explain what a difficult job it is and to humanise it.

"I make that choice, and with that choice comes the ability for people to send messages of hate and violence."

Barnes said while he was able to "compartmentalise" the negative side of social media, he struggled when his family were subject to abuse.

"If you're a fan at your local rugby club and you're sending vile messages to people's families and making threats, why should you be able to be involved in the rugby family?" he said.

"The bit I've always struggled with and will continue to struggle with is when that abuse comes to my family.

"I want prosecuting agencies to consider ways of doing that, I want legislation of what social media sites can do to prevent it and I also want governing bodies to consider what they can do."

...

Barnes describes in his autobiography 'Throwing the Book' the abuse he has received in the past, which led him to consider quitting as a referee on several occasions.

The Englishman was also subjected to abuse after sending off France captain Antoine Dupont and South Africa flanker Steph du Toit in the Springboks' defeat in Mhazelnutille last year.

Barnes says it was a moment that could have fast-tracked his retirement as the abuse became more intense following criticism from South Africa director of rugby Rassie Erasmus.

"Without doubt, it was moment where you think 'why do we do this?'" he said

"But then you sit down and talk about it and realise there is only 10 months to go [until the World Cup] and you don't want the keyboard warriors to win."

World Rugby takes legal action following match official abuse monitoring after World Cup

 Legal action is being taken after match officials and players suffered online abuse during the Rugby World Cup.

One person in Australia has been charged for online abuse and a court hearing planned for this week.

There are also multiple pending prosecutions in Australia, South Africa, France, New Zealand and the UK.

World Rugby partnered with an online monitoring agency for the tournament which flagged more than 1,600 abusive accounts to social media.

That resulted in 90% of the most serious content being removed.

More than 900 social media accounts, including those belonging to all match officials with public-facing social accounts - including their families - and World Rugby's official channels, were monitored by Signify Group during the seven-week tournament held in France last autumn.

Match officials receive 49% of abuse; England most abused team

World Cup final referee Wayne Barnes retired after South Africa's 12-11 victory over New Zealand in November and told the BBC he and his family received "vile" social media abuse that "crossed a line".

His wife, Polly, previously said Barnes received death threats after the match.

Referee Tom Foley announced in December he would take a break from international rugby because of the "torrent of criticism and abuse" he received after the final where he was the television match official (TMO).

Match officials, including TMOs, received 49% of the total abuse during the tournament, while three match officials were in the top 10 most targeted individuals and Barnes was the most targeted individual, receiving one third of all abuse.

Match officials and their families received abuse over private direct message, which has led to law enforcement intervention.

World Rugby said there was "evidence of a clear correlation" between comments made online and offline by players and coaches triggering online and in-ground abuse of match officials.

"Those who abuse or threaten players, match officials or their families must realise there will be consequences for their actions," said Barnes.

"It is great to see World Rugby leading the way and seeing the first charges being made against those individuals who send such appalling messages.

"There is simply no place for that behaviour in rugby, in sport or in society."

...

Europe (58%) topped the geographic origin of verified abusive accounts, with Africa 19%, Oceania 10%, South America 3%.

Nineteen teams received targeted abuse on their official accounts and two European nations were in the top three of most abused teams with the England team receiving the largest volume of abuse, followed by South Africa and France.

Players were also targeted with a wider variety of abuse types compared to match officials, who received 24% of abuse about match-fixing.

World Rugby has confirmed the monitoring will continue in 2024 and cover international match officials operating across the men's and women's Test matches.

Edited by Steve@Mose - 31 Jan 2024 at 19:58