England’s Matthew Carley is one of the match officials at this year’s Rugby World Cup.
Born in Deal, Kent, Carley began refereeing at the age of 16, working his way up through the Kent system either side of a stint at university in Gloucestershire.
The official soon made the step up to the Rugby Football Union (RFU) national panel, and became the first referee to officiate a professional game while wearing a body camera during the 2012/13 Championship season.
A Premiership debut followed soon after, with Carley soon establishing himself as a regular in the top tier of English rugby.
His first international fixture arrived in 2015, with Portugal taking on Spain, and Carley took charge of a first game involving a Tier 1 nation in November 2016, overseeing Scotland against Georgia.
The 38-year-old travelled to the 2019 World Cup as an assistant referee, operating as a touch judge throughout the tournament, and was also the reserve referee if injury or illness prevented one of those selected to take the whistle from officiating.
He is one of three debutants who stepped up to the refereing panel for this year’s World Cup, and one of four English referees in France. He made headlines during his first game of the tournament, with many feeling he was too lenient by not dishing out yellow cards to Wales despite repeated infringements during their narrow win over Fiji.
Which games is Matthew Carley refereeing at the 2023 Rugby World Cup?
Wales v Fiji – Pool C (10 September, Bordeaux)
Referee: Matthew Carley (Eng)
ARs: Wayne Barnes (Eng) & Christophe Ridley (Eng)
TMO: Brian MacNeice (Ire)
France v Namibia – Pool A (21 September, Marseille)
Referee: Matthew Carley (Eng)
ARs: Andrew Brace (Ire) & Craig Evans (Wal)
TMO: Joy Neville (Ire)
New Zealand v Italy – Pool A (29 September, Lyon)
Referee: Matthew Carley (Eng)
ARs: Nic Berry (Aus) & Christophe Ridley (Eng)
TMO: Brett Cronan (Aus)
