Plans to celebrate the career of rugby referee Wayne Barnes has been scrapped in the final moments over fears of backlash.
Wayne Barnes took charge of his 100th test game this month, as England hosted South Africa in Twickenham to round off the November international series, with plans to celebrate his achievement in his home country.
With his family in attendance, there was plans to commemorate his stellar referring career at half-time of today's game. However, those plans were cancelled due to fears fans backlash within the crowd.
Plans to mark Wayne Barnes’ record-breaking career as a referee at half-time have been shelved. With his family & children here, there are worries about how some in the crowd might react. This is why and where it must end. pic.twitter.com/KdcInJ0KXG
— Nick Mullins (@andNickMullins) November 26, 2022
Wayne Barnes Abuse
Wayne Barnes and his family had received extreme abuse, that included death threats. from South Africa fans following the red card he gave to South Africa's Pieter Steph Du-toit in their 30-26 loss to France for a dangerous tackle at the ruck. Barnes became the most capped Test referee of all time in this game.
This abuse was not helped by South Africa director of rugby Rassie Erasmus, who carried out his own online post-match assessment of South Africa's recent games, that has been widely condemned from those in the game.
The former Munster manager's recent behaviour has seen him receive a two game ban, which included today's game against England. The worrying knock-on affect this has had means one of the most successful referees in the history of the game can't have his achievements acknowledged due to safety fears.
Erasmus is no stranger to controversy, having received a ban following the 2021 British and Irish Lions Tour. Following this latest series of strange behaviour form Erasmus, the South African Rugby Union released a statement condemning the behaviour of Erasmus and revealed discussions are taking place to stop this behaviour.
"World Rugby CEO Alan Gilpin and World Rugby director of rugby Phil Davies met with South Africa director of rugby Rassie Erasmus on Thursday and held positive discussions regarding recent events and match official communications on general.
There was agreement that further dialogue was needed in terms of enhancing the process that operates between teams and match officials to ensure all can play their part in creating great spectacles and avoid frustration but in a way that underpins the respect for match officials, coaches and players.
Hopefully this can be the sign that Erasmus behaviour after games has had a big impact on match officials and the abuse they receive, as seen with Wayne Barnes.
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