There was no better time to retire for Wayne Barnes. The 44-year-old English referee who led the final won by South Africa against New Zealand (12-11) announced the end of his career in a post published on X (formerly Twitter). “People often say that you know when it’s the right time to leave. It is clearly the right time to retire for me and my family,” wrote Wayne Barnes.
With this last match at the Stade de France this Saturday, the Englishman alone holds the record for matches managed in the World Cup – 27 in five editions. During the current edition, he will have reached the total of six matches refereed, as many as during the 2019 World Cup, where he notably led the final for 3rd place won by New Zealand against Wales. “I had the privilege of seeing the best players in the world and working with the greatest coaches in the world,” says the man who has more than 110 test matches to his credit.
Above all, the 44-year-old referee wants to spend more time with his loved ones. “The children didn’t have their father for too long. I want those family weekends, school reunions, and birthday parties back,” says Wayne Barnes. The Englishman especially had a word for these colleagues mistreated during this World Cup. “Online harassment and threats have become too regular for everyone involved in the match,” lamented the referee.
After the quarter-final lost by the French XV against South Africa, Ben O’Keeffe suffered a wave of hatred on social networks for several potential refereeing errors.
