The Rugby World Cup final referee, Wayne Barnes, has described social media abuse towards him and his family as “vile” and called for online trolls to be held to account.
The 44-year-old English official’s last match was one of his most challenging, with Barnes showing the first red card in a men’s World Cup final to the New Zealand captain, Sam Cane, during South Africa’s 12-11 victory in Paris. It was among a number of contentious decisions made by Barnes, who announced his retirement five days later having taken charge of a record 111 Tests.
