The Wellington Rugby Referees Association has opted not to appoint officials for this weekend’s fixtures amid ongoing abuse.

The move follows three instances of verbal abuse of referees during weekend games.

Wellington Rugby Referees Association president and chair Ben van Berkel says this follows an accumulation of incidents that took place over the past year. 

"Referees are a resilient bunch, but we've also said that the behaviour we walk past on is the behaviour we accept - so we want to make sure that we report all the incidents this year."

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The Wellington Rugby Referees Association has opted not to appoint officials for this weekend’s fixtures amid ongoing abuse.
The move follows three instances of verbal abuse of referees during weekend games.
Wellington Rugby Referees Association president and chair Ben van Berkel says this follows an accumulation of incidents that took place over the past year.&nbsp;
"Referees are a resilient bunch, but we've also said that the behaviour we walk past on is the behaviour we accept - so we want to make sure that we report all the incidents this year."
LISTEN ABOVE

With a straight down the middle approach, Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive on Newstalk ZB delivers the very latest news and views to New Zealanders as they wrap up their day.

Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive

Ben van Berkel: Wellington Rugby Referees Association president on the organisation not appointing officials this weekend amid abuse

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/7784f840-c291-422a-924b-ad9000bbad71/clips/02ace218-881c-4824-a726-b47f006cdd8d/transcript