New Zealand referee Ben O’Keeffe, target of much criticism, on the French side, after his performance during the quarter-final of the France-South Africa rugby world championship, was whistled by the public at the Stade de France this Saturday evening on the sidelines of the semi-final between the Springboks and England.
New Zealand referee Ben O’Keeffe, some of whose decisions had been questioned by the French players after their elimination from the 2023 World Cup, was booed by the public at the Stade de France on Saturday before the semi-final between South Africa and England. A reaction resonated in the Dyonisian enclosure when the face of the 34-year-old referee appeared, with those of his assistants, on the giant screens a few minutes before kick-off. He had already been whistled during his first appearance on the field, for his warm-up, while the stands were still largely sparse.
O’Keeffe has been the target of numerous criticisms since the quarter-final lost last weekend by the XV of France against the Springboks (29-28), who were also heavily whistled on Saturday at the Stade de France, notably Eben Etzebeth, Cheslin Kolbe and Faf de Klerk.
A report sent to World Rugby
“I don’t want to be angry and complain about the referee because he lost the match, but I’m not sure that the refereeing was up to the challenge today,” he said. declared the captain of the Blues Antoine Dupont hotly after the meeting. “Referees are never perfect, we inevitably make mistakes in the game,” O’Keeffe defended this week in an interview with New Zealand channel Newshub.
The president of the French Rugby Federation Florian Grill told RMC on Saturday that a report on the refereeing of the match had been sent to the governing body of world rugby World Rugby. “It’s not a complaint because the match is not going to be replayed anyway,” he clarified.