World Cup Final Official Tom Foley Faces Death Threats Amidst Rising Abuse

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Premiership referee exposes disturbing online attacks, highlighting the urgent need to tackle abuse against match officials in sports.

Tom Foley, the television match official for the recent World Cup final, has revealed the shocking extent of death threats and online abuse he and his family endured following South Africa’s victory over New Zealand. Foley, a Premiership referee, disclosed this distressing situation on the Two Locks and a Cox podcast, shedding light on the severe challenges faced by match officials in the aftermath of high-profile rugby events.

Foley joins Wayne Barnes as the second official in a month to speak out about the significant abuse targeted at themselves or their loved ones following the World Cup final in Paris. The alarming trend of abuse extends beyond personal attacks, with abusers going as far as emailing the school of Foley’s young children.

Approximately 200 incidents of social media abuse across seven different countries were previously identified during the recent World Cup in France. World Rugby is poised to take action against those responsible, with the possibility of prosecutions.

Signify Group, a data science and artificial intelligence company collaborating with rugby’s governing body, uncovered 2,000 public posts (excluding private messages) from 1,600 different individuals, meeting the threshold for potential prosecution if sent from the United Kingdom.

Tom Foley, the TMO of the World Cup final, revealed in a recent interview the horrible online abuse him and his family endured after the game.

In an interview with BBC, he went on to say that he had never experienced anything on this level in the 20 years of his career. pic.twitter.com/64lDHnSsro

— BallCarrier (@BallCarrier_) November 29, 2023

Foley shared, “They were direct threats against you, your family, and kids. Things like: ‘I hope your family dies in a dreadful car accident. I’m going to hunt you down and slit your throat.’ Most of it you can take. A lot of it is just from keyboard warriors. But when they know enough information that it could be a problem, that’s when it gets worrying.”

The impact of such abuse on match officials raises concerns about the future of refereeing in the sport. Foley emphasized the need for collective efforts to address this issue, stating, “The sport as a whole is going to suffer. How are we going to get people to referee?”

World Rugby has taken proactive measures, enlisting Signify Group to screen and investigate abusive content, potentially leading to prosecutions. Foley condemned the faceless and cowardly nature of online abuse, questioning why individuals feel empowered to make such statements on the internet.