Referee Andrew Brace subjected to appalling online abuse in wake of Autumn Nations Cup final
Referee Andrew Brace has been subject to an appalling tirade of abuse online following his officiating of the Autumn Nations Cup final.
Fans have taken to directly tagging the 32-year-old in their posts on Twitter, and worse still, some have opted to comment on the obituary of his late father.
This is a stark reminder of the dark side of social media, as no person should face abuse of this nature. Moreover, it continues to tarnish the reputation of rugby, which seems to cling to the illusion that it has a higher set of standards than other sports.
England snuck to a sudden death 22-19 win over an inexperienced France at Twickenham, but looked as though they were heading for a humiliating loss in the final minutes of regular time when trailing 19-12.
Eddie Jones’ side managed to score a last gasp try, but there were at least two occasions in the final two minutes where England seemed to have knocked the ball on, but went unnoticed. In fact, Owen Farrell’s fumble at the base of a ruck actually led to a penalty to England, which allowed them to kick to the corner and Luke Cowan-Dickie to score from the ensuing lineout.
Conversely, France’s Sekou Macalou was wrongly adjudged to have knocked the ball on following France’s kick-off for the second half of extra time. England won a penalty from the scrum and were able to relieve the pressure and work their way upfield and eventually earn the match-winning penalty themselves. Had the scrum not been awarded in the first place, England were toiling in their own 22.
While Brace received the brunt of this criticism online, it has been highlighted that the television match official and the touch judges were silent in instances where their voices needed to be heard.
Brace was on the wrong side of the ruck when Farrell knocked the ball on, as he was only moments before when Billy Vunipola appeared to knock the ball on as well. It is understandable that he may have missed them given the melee of bodies in his way, but it is most surprising that his officiating team did not assist him.
Regardless of how aggrieved someone feels after a loss, very few would argue that this is acceptable behaviour, and indeed there are many that have deleted their comments. Social media is a platform which allows people to voice their opinions, but tagging their target in a post or hijacking a personal post of theirs are new depths.
Hundreds of messages, many too unpleasant to publish, were directed at the young referee.
https://twitter.com/Ambitiouslong/status/1335859337361846274?s=20
Not the post for this.
— Ian Harries (@LordHarries) December 7, 2020
https://twitter.com/PlayraphY/status/1335620479131004930?s=20
@bracey1988 defines himself as "High Performance Referee"… this a joke !? Une "farce", oui #ENGFRA #AutumnNationsCup
— Renaud Dejarnac ? (@Doctorno34) December 7, 2020
@bracey1988 you are a disgrace to the Nation of Rugby. It's a shame that someone like you is allowed to referee at such a high level. France fought a beautiful battle tonight, and you ruined it. Still the winners in every supporter's heart #ENGvFRA
— Polpote à la compote (@a_la_compote) December 6, 2020
@bracey1988
Maybe you should remove “high performance” from your title. Probably you should also remove referee. Nice profile picture with your favorite team on it ? pic.twitter.com/SvQasRlK6g— Bouissiere Julien (@BouissiereJ) December 7, 2020
Hey @bracey1988 you are the worst referee ever. You're such a ??????????. Change job !! You're not a professional. Next time we will find you…#engfra #ShameOnYou
— ? 4?? (@YGUEULEFORT) December 6, 2020
FFS, please to the people commenting. SHOW A LITTLE RESPECT. IT WAS JUST A GAME. I'm French, I'm disappointed by the result of the game. But please: this is THE MAN'S DAD OBITUARY you're shi****g on !
From French respectful fans : please @bracey1988, accept our condolences.
— Masthei64 (@Masthei64) December 6, 2020
Please fellow Frenchmen, I know we are all angry about the performance of Andrew Brace yesterday, but this post is about his dad's obituary. Show respect to that and stop yelling on it as if you were pigs.
Sorry @bracey1988.— Thomas Cazalis (@Thomas_Caza) December 7, 2020
Comments on RugbyPass
Saints obviously didn’t get the memo, or needed an ego boost?
1 Go to commentsReturning to the Chiefs would be another good change that could only put him into a better position to succeed in black
6 Go to commentsSimply outrageous and demonstrably false to say Finau’s tackle on Lynagh was “2 seconds late” In reality it was probably 0.5 seconds after he passed the ball. If you carry the ball at speed to within 5m of the defensive line you can expect to get tackled. Finau could have pulled out of it and not absolutely flattened him for sure, but there was going to be contact either way. He seems like a high risk selection at the moment, but there is no one else like him in NZ at the moment. His big tackles make the highlight reels but he is also a great athlete, very fast for such a big man, spent most of his days at lock so also very strong in the line out.
21 Go to commentsYes, Finau looks like the best option. Blackadder is not big enough for an international 6 - he should join the queue at 7. Frizzell had the power and heft and line-out height to play lock, so maybe that is where the ABs should be looking, not at a 7 who’s not big enough for 6, but at a lock who might have the agility to play 6, like Scott Barrett, or… Natai Ah Kuoi, who absolutely fits that bill, but seldom gets to play 6 because the Chiefs have so many loosies.
21 Go to commentsPaul Quinn was a National MP.
6 Go to commentsNo need to worry about losers’ mentality hysteria from Australia. Finau has all the attributes, I don't recall a high or no arms tackle from him, and his timing has been controlled very well since the round 3 Lynagh tackle. It's an easy decision for Razor, the only question is who should back him up from the bench. He can't be overworked like Squire was in his first full season.
21 Go to comments“Reds coach Les Kiss saying later: “I think every player has the right to feel safe.” Maybe Rugby is the wrong sport for people who want to feel safe..?
21 Go to commentsNot sure what the context was, but the highlights showed one scrum against Aussie where the baby Blacks were going backwards at a pace. The pack has been the issue since 2017, so they might be in for another reality check soon. This tournament should really have been two rounds, would have learned a lot more.
1 Go to commentsPeter Lakai has a ‘lot of size’? Since when? To Kirifi maybe. I think Laidlaw clearly saw he’s too small for 6 or 8, so plonked him at 7. Has potential to be Ardies understudy in black for 7.
6 Go to commentsDalton for skipper?
16 Go to commentsOh he's ‘Irish qualified’ isn't that convenient. If Ireland get any more Kiwis (and Aussie) in their backline they might need to run out in green and black kit soon. How is the supposed best rugby system in the world in need of trawling for journeyman Kiwi players?
2 Go to commentsCallum Grace is playing well now that he's finally back in his best position. But given it was Razor who somehow thought Grace was dynamic enough to be a No8 when he's clearly not, Im not sure he’d backtrack on that. Finau is risky with his style, and there's almost no point picking Blackadder when he can’t stay on the field more than five minutes.
21 Go to commentsThe team on paper has more supposed ‘stars’ than a lot of the sides they’re losing to. They’ve got the Razor-blues and aren't playing for Penney. He should jump before he's pushed.
1 Go to commentsProof. That if you lay dramatic instrumental hip hop music over a video of a skinny pale white kid running an unopposed zig zag on a training ground filled with rookies - it’ll look next-level epic!
13 Go to commentsIf they win the challenge Cup then it will have all been worth it. If they don’t, then maybe he should go. Lots of ppl seem to think very highly of him as a coach, but maybe he would be better working under someone. Any top sides looking for forwards coaches rn?
1 Go to commentsJason Ryan knows his craft as forwards coach and I'm sure he’ll hold sway with Scott Robertson of who he feels worthy of selection…his credentials validated when he put a 7xcaps between them front row...Ethan, Samisoni and Lomax on Ellis Park…Go the AB's…
21 Go to commentsFascinating. I’m optimistic about a team coached by Schmiddy, Cron and Parling
14 Go to commentsI think if Blackadder is fit, he has to be in the team. If he isn’t, Finau would be good, and I always thought Akira deserved more of a crack at it. I think he looked better than ppl gave him credit.
21 Go to commentsThanks again Nick and interesting comments from Parling about his lineout preferences. Bearing in mind what Schmidt has said about prioritising Oz based players initially we may not see Skeleton until the EOY trip to Ireland and the UK. To me that suggests that Cale has to be ready by then. In the meantime we get 3 jumpers by having 2 jumping locks and a Wright/Swinton/Holloway/Leota type of guy at 6. I think that he (Parling) would do well to coach Valentini and Wilson to jump more. Surely they could learn more about this?
14 Go to commentsdo what the ABs normally do and cruise around the South Pacific to cherry-pick the contenders
21 Go to comments