An early report from esteemed journalist Murray Kinsella at The 42 has suggested that Irish referee Chris Busby is set to make a shock exit from the sport. This report comes after the referee was on the receiving end of a Mack Hansen outburst last month, which took aim at an apparent bias against Connaught following their loss to Leinster in Round 8 of the URC.
Hansen has since been handed a six-week ban, with three weeks suspended, following an Independent Disciplinary Panel’s decision on a misconduct charge related to comments he made about the officiating.
Hansen’s remarks, which included significant criticism of the match referee, were found to breach Clause 3.2 of the BKT United Rugby Championship Disciplinary Rules.
This clause defines misconduct as any behaviour or statements that could bring the sport, match officials, or the league into disrepute. The player also faced charges under eight other clauses, highlighting the seriousness of the infraction.
The Disciplinary Panel, comprising Roger Morris (Chair, Wales), Nigel Williams (Wales), and Stefan Terblanche (South Africa), convened on January 8 to deliberate. In determining the penalty, the panel acknowledged Hansen’s apology and his acceptance of the misconduct charge. They emphasized the importance of a learning process over a purely punitive approach.
As part of the sanctions, Hansen must:
- Apologise to match official Chris Busby (IRFU)
- Complete a match officiating course under the guidance of Tappe Henning (URC Head of Match Officials) and Dudley Phillips (IRFU Head of Referees), sharing his learnings with teammates.
- Participate in an education session at Connacht Rugby on media conduct post-match.
Connacht Rugby also received a suspended €10,000 fine for failing to control their personnel, applicable until the end of the 2024/25 season, contingent on no further breaches.
Despite all these sanctions, the damage appears to already be done to the experienced referee, who is now expected not to undertake the two upcoming Six Nations matches for which he is currently down as an assistant referee, and is expected to call it a day on his professional career.
The 42’s report states: “While Busby’s decision to retire is said to be multi-factored, with personal reasons to the fore, it’s thought that this episode involving Hansen has been the tipping point.”
Interestingly, and somewhat relevant to this case, Busby has previously given his own advice on the role, saying: “It’s no secret that being a referee, at any level, can be a tough job. The best advice I was ever given was to use the tougher days at the office as an opportunity to learn and get better, rather than stressing out about decisions which you might have gotten wrong.”
Having started refereeing in 2010 following his own playing injury, he made his professional debut in 2020, going on to referee in some of the highest competitions in the world, including appearances at the 2023 World Cup as an assistant referee.
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