Bad losers and human stupidity have no nationality. After the match on Saturday, November 17, some supporters and media personalities in New Zealand strongly criticized referee Nika Amashukeli. The Georgian was on the whistle during France's narrow header victory (30-29) at the Stade de France.
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On social networks, but also in traditional media, a lot of criticism was visible after the match. For example, columnist Gregor Paul wrote the following words in the prestigious New Zealand Herald:
(The French) tried to live to the rhythm of the match and, deep down, they also knew that they lived on curiously generous scrum interpretations. Under another referee, the All Blacks could have been declared unanimous winners and benefited from a series of wild penalties.”
However, in the rest of his remarks, he also salutes the performance of the Blues. “France did what it does best: played intelligently on mistakes and let its public help it build these irresistible momentums”, he punctuates.
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“Why are we screwing up a Georgian referee?”
On other media, some observers show less restraint. On New Zealand radio WITHOUTspecializing in sport, the presenter of the show The Rugby Run, Mark Watson, criticized the match official on the sole basis of his nationality:
Last year in the World Cup final we had a referee who relied entirely on the TMO and his assistant referees, acting as if he didn't know the rules. Today we saw something similar. We had a Georgian referee. But why are we screwing up a Georgian referee in this match? Because we want to develop rugby? The problem is that I don't want to talk about the exciting rugby that was played, only the refereeing. The game will never grow if all we do is talk about the referee.”
For several minutes, Mark Watson continued to shoot the referee of the day without warning, indicating that Nika Amashukeli was there only to “spread some love”, not without mockery. To counterbalance, former All Black Steve Devine speaks on air, saying that he “doesn't like to criticize refereeing” and that New Zealand did not know “enjoy its highlights”, especially in the second half.
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At the same time, several remarks are also visible on social networkscalling the official a referee “amateur” or “worst referee in history”. Not everyone is vehement towards Nika Amashukeli. If most of these New Zealand comments on the refereeing are negative, other All Blacks fans are more fair play.
Only one year after the 2023 World Cup, these speeches recall those who were able to participate harassment, sometimes massive, of match officials. New Zealander Ben O'Keeffe was notably one of the main targets after officiating in France – South Africa, the quarter-final having eliminated the Blues from the competition. To address this issue, World Rugby published the documentary Whistleblowers at the start of the year, but the path remains complex.
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