New Zealand cops investigating world cup ref death threats
South Africa ranked second highest in the number of verified social media accounts that sent abuse during the tournament.
New Zealand police have confirmed that an investigation into death threats against World Rugby’s referees has been opened, shortly after it was revealed that Wayne Barnes was abused the most at the 2023 Rugby World Cup.
A report by World Rugby revealed that English referee Barnes, who took charge of the world cup final between the Springboks and All Blacks, received more abuse on social media than any other individual and team during the tournament in France.
Barnes was the single most targeted individual throughout the tournament, as he received a third of all abuse targeted directly at individuals.
According to the report, three match officials were in the Top 10 most targeted individuals of the tournament. Match officials received 49% of the total volume of directed abuse at the tournament and were were the fourth most targeted group, surpassing finalists the All Blacks.
The largest spike in abuse came on October 15 after France were narrowly knocked out of the tournament by South Africa in the quarter-finals – a match refereed by New Zealander Ben O’Keeffe. A further spike was seen on the day of the final between New Zealand and South Africa.
Warning: Video contains strong language
The report revealed that 21 verified social media accounts based in New Zealand sent abuse during the tournament. The most verified accounts originated in France (95) and South Africa (71).
New Zealand’s detective inspector Stuart Mills told the NZ Herald that police are investigating three complaints of threats against referees.
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