Cape Town - South African referee Jaco Peyper was not a very popular man amongst England rugby fans this past weekend after their team lost to Ireland as fullback Freddie Steward was sent off with a red card.
The Irish, playing against 14 men for more than half of the game, won comprehensively as they also claimed a Grand Slam to be crowned Six Nations Champions in style.
Peyper, though, had to bear the brunt of the English supporters, and was criticised on social media after their loss which they linked directly to the Steward send off.
The South African also had his Wikipedia profile updated briefly by a disgruntled England supporter, portraying him to be biased favouring Ireland.
"Jaco Patrick O'Peyper is a proper character and an Irish Rugby Union referee. Recently awarded the Stevie Wonder Gift of sight award for being the first Blind International referee," the doctored Wikipedia biography read tongue in cheek after it was altered.
"Jaco was awarded the freedom of Dublin in 2023 for services to Irish Rugby," it continued. It's also not the first time Peyper received flack from a European nation.
After France's exit from the 2019 Rugby World Cup, Peyper was stood down by World Rugby for the semi-finals after he was involved in 'elbow gate' with Welsh fans.
French player Sebastien Vahaamahina was red-carded for using his elbow in that match with Peyper being the man in the middle. The French were not happy with the actions of Peyper although others saw it as innocent fun.
Steward's red card divided the opinion of pundits and supporters alike.
The Englishman braced for contact and caught an Irish attacker against the head with his shoulder.
Before the focus of world rugby shifted to protecting players, especially with head contact, that would've been adjudicated as a rugby collision.
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But with the laws changing, head contact on an attacker whether there was intent or not, is seen as dangerous and foul play.
The help of the television match official is then brought in to see if there's any mitigation or if a straight red card is warranted.
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The Steward incident will be discussed for the foreseeable future especially with the World Cup happening later this year.
A decision like this could be the difference between a win and a loss for a side in a crucial match.
@Leighton_K
IOL Sport