He is the only French field referee to have officiated during the World Cup. Mathieu Raynal, 42, is a regular in the Top 14, elected best referee in the championship in 2022. In an interview given to Rugby Ramahe discussed at length the specificities of such a competition and the various controversies which surrounded it.
Fiji-England, France-South Africa, South Africa-England and finally New Zealand-South Africa… So many matches where the refereeing was questioned, at least criticized, by the general public as well as by some observers.
Decisions “checked every time”
The introduction of the “bunker”, this system which allows a yellow card to be converted into a red card thanks to video refereeing, has particularly caused a lot of talk. “We did not completely master this new procedure and that put us in difficulty,” recognizes Mathieu Raynal. The lack of explanation of decisions at the beginning (…) and the differences in decisions for actions that seemed similar in the eyes of the general public, were moments that did us a disservice.”
Thus, “the fact that there was no formal video call left the general public thinking that the disputed actions were not reviewed on video,” explains the professional. But they were checked each time. And the video referee then communicated to the central referee his response on the given situation. It made it possible to continue the game without interrupting it too often.”
However, there is no question of calling into question the usefulness of this innovation, but the Frenchman recognizes that he would have needed “more perspective” “to master it and make it a force”. “But today, in very exposed matches which end with a small difference in points, I wonder if it is possible for a referee not to find himself at the center of post-match discussions,” regrets -he.
And with these discussions, Mathieu Raynal was also able to observe “the important resonance chamber” that the images and slow motions found on social networks, which according to him “favor the emergence of controversy”. “Most of the time, people without expertise show off their points of view and turn them into truths,” he says.
“We are damaging what we inherited”
“Insults or death threats against us or our families are a reality. This is even more true in global matches which have a tenfold resonance,” he finally lamented. But the referee fears not seeing any real desire to “change things”. “I don’t feel (…) any real desire to put an end to the impunity of speech granted on social networks. I don’t sense any collective awareness of the importance of the issue,” he decried.
Beyond being worried about the future of refereeing, Mathieu Raynal said he was worried “for the future of rugby”. “We are damaging what we have inherited and which makes our sport so special. (…) Rugby is a sport that conveys real values. (…) If we damage that, we will saw off the branch on which we are all sitting.”
