Wayne Barnes is among a group of leading referees who have established the first representative organisation for match officials with one of the fundamental aims to protect the well-being of its members amid growing concerns over the rise in abuse they have received.
Barnes last week revealed how he had considered giving up refereeing as a result of the online abuse he and his family was subjected to in the wake of his 100th Test – France’s narrow win against South Africa. Soon after that match the Springboks director of rugby, Rassie Erasmus, released a series of social-media comments criticising Barnes’s performance. There followed a torrent of online abuse with Barnes revealing his wife, Polly, was the target of threats of sexual violence.
