{"id":299262,"date":"2023-12-04T15:24:23","date_gmt":"2023-12-04T15:24:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sports-life-news.com\/?p=299262"},"modified":"2023-12-04T15:24:23","modified_gmt":"2023-12-04T15:24:23","slug":"rugby-world-cup-official-claims-hes-taking-a-break-from-officiating","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sports-life-news.com\/rugby-union\/rugby-world-cup-official-claims-hes-taking-a-break-from-officiating\/","title":{"rendered":"Rugby World Cup official claims he&apos;s &apos;taking a break&apos; from officiating"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1> Rugby World Cup final official, 38, reveals he&#8217;s &#8216;taking a break&#8217; from officiating &#8211; as he claims &#8216;criticism&#8217; and &#8216;abuse online&#8217; are his reasons for stepping away from the sport<\/h1>\n<ul>\n<li><span>Tom Foley has revealed he will immediately\u00a0&#8216;take a break&#8217; from rugby officiating\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><strong>The referee claimed that he had received &#8216;a torrent of criticism and abuse online&#8217;<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>English referee Tom Foley has become the latest rugby official to step away from the elite game citing the impact of social media threats and abuse.<\/p>\n<p>Foley was the television match official for this year\u2019s World Cup final between New Zealand and South Africa. He and his young family received death threats after the game.<\/p>\n<p>Foley\u2019s fellow referee Wayne Barnes was the man in the middle for the Paris final and retired after the match after also receiving unacceptable vitriol online which targeted him and his family. England captain Owen Farrell last week also stepped away from international rugby to protect his and his family\u2019s mental health after suffering abuse.<\/p>\n<p>Foley said: \u2018Having reached the pinnacle in officiating at the World Cup final, now feels the right time to take a break from the international game.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018Over the course of 13 years, I have been fortunate to officiate alongside many dedicated professionals and be involved in some of the greatest games in international rugby. However, the pressure and scrutiny I came under after the World Cup final, along with a torrent of criticism and abuse online, has helped to reaffirm this is the right decision for me at this point.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/12\/04\/14\/78555979-12823467-image-a-8_1701698587893.jpg\" height=\"417\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>English referee Tom Foley has become the latest rugby official to step away from the elite game<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/12\/04\/14\/78556125-12823467-image-a-10_1701698800542.jpg\" height=\"441\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Foley was the TV match official for the World Cup final between New Zealand and South Africa<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/12\/04\/14\/78080051-12823467-Mail_Sport_has_launched_a_campaign_to_stop_the_abuse_of_referees-a-9_1701698595381.jpg\" height=\"291\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Mail Sport has launched a campaign to stop the abuse of referees at all levels of the game<\/p>\n<p>\u2018While it\u2019s a privilege to be at the heart of some of the sport\u2019s most iconic moments, the increasing levels of vitriol, when the demands and expectation are so high, have led me to this moment.\u2019 Foley will continue to referee in England\u2019s main domestic competition the Gallagher Premiership.<\/p>\n<p>But his decision to quit international rugby because of the hatred he has received only serves to reinforce the belief the game has a serious problem it is not dealing with.<\/p>\n<p>Foley, from Somerset, had to warn his children\u2019s school about threats in the wake of South Africa winning the final after the sending off of New Zealand captain Sam Cane. He received messages which threatened to hunt him down. One also said they hoped Foley would die in a car crash.<\/p>\n<p>Foley has been involved in 217 Premiership games either as a referee or TMO and worked in 48 Tests including in the Six Nations and at World Cups.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018Working as an international match official takes you away from home for extended periods and I am looking forward to spending more time at home with my young children,\u2019 he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018I am very grateful to my family for their support during my career. Without them none of it would have been possible.\u2019<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/12\/04\/14\/78556147-12823467-image-a-11_1701698888198.jpg\" height=\"400\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Foley has been involved in 217 Premiership games either as a referee or TMO<\/p>\n<p>RFU chief executive Bill Sweeney said: \u2018I would like to thank Tom for his outstanding contribution to international officiating.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018Tom is considered one of the best television match officials globally.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018The abuse he has suffered since the World Cup final, along with other officials involved in that game, is totally unacceptable and no-one should be treated in this way for doing their job for the sport they are so committed to and passionate about.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018We will do everything possible to help guard against the abuse aimed at match officials and players and would urge everyone in our game to consider the role they can play in upholding rugby values. Although Tom steps back from Test officiating, we are pleased the sport will continue to benefit from his extensive experience domestically.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/sport\/rugbyunion\/article-12823467\/Rugby-World-Cup-final-official-reveals-hes-taking-break-officiating-claims-criticism-abuse-online-reasons-stepping-away-sport.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read Full Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Rugby World Cup final official, 38, reveals he&#8217;s &#8216;taking a break&#8217; from officiating &#8211; as he claims &#8216;criticism&#8217; and &#8216;abuse online&#8217; are his reasons for stepping away from the sport Tom Foley has revealed he will immediately\u00a0&#8216;take a break&#8217; from rugby officiating\u00a0&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":299261,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Rugby World Cup official claims he&amp;apos;s &amp;apos;taking a break&amp;apos; 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