Mack Hansen’s post-match diatribe following Connacht’s URC defeat to Leinster seemed to be borne of raw, unfiltered frustration that had been percolating for a while rather than with malice aforethought.
But once that Pandora’s box of his observations had been opened, there was no getting the lid back on. The only thing to be determined was the length of the suspension.
The 26-year-old wing received a six-week ban, three of which are suspended, after an Independent Disciplinary Panel upheld a charge of misconduct in relation to the comments he made about refereeing after Connacht’s defeat to Leinster before Christmas. Hansen had been charged after saying his province had been on the rough end of officiating “week after week”.
Connacht were given a suspended €10,000 fine related to Hansen’s sanction and the player will have to undertake “an appropriate course” related to match officiating.
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Hansen was repentant, acknowledged that his comments were “ill-advised” and of his own volition, independent of whatever sanctions were imposed, is going to apologise to match referee Chris Busby.
The Irish Times understands, in following up on a story that Murray Kinsella broke initially on The 42, that the Ulster official is set to step away from officiating in professional rugby for personal reasons, and that while Hansen’s comments had an impact, they weren’t the root cause of Busby’s decision.
The Ballyclare native joined the IRFU’s elite referee panel in a professional context in 2021. He’s a very good referee that communicates well and he will be missed. Busby is expected to still take charge of the Champions Cup game between Bath and Clermont Auvergne at the Rec on Sunday but is unlikely to be involved in the upcoming Six Nations Championship where he had been scheduled to officiate as an assistant referee.
Players are not afforded the scope to be publicly critical of match officials, particularly in an overt way. Language is important and Hansen didn’t couch his remarks. He’s not the first and won’t be the last, rugby has a long list of incandescent coaches and players venting in a post-match setting.
In April 2023 Lions, England and La Rochelle wing Jack Nowell was fined €10,000, paid to charity, and ordered to attend a refereeing course for criticising referee Karl Dickson on X (formerly Twitter) about a decision.
Rugby is absolutely correct to protect match officials, especially from the sport’s other constituents, as there is already a mechanism in place for coaches to directly address issues that arise in matches with Tappe Henning (URC’s head of match officials), Tony Spreadbury (head of match officials EPCR) and Joel Jutge (head of match officials World Rugby), official touchpoints with whom to raise concerns.
“No referee, no game” is an important baseline. While it would be tone deaf – well, just plain wrong – to suggest that the media aren’t sometimes critical of officials, the abuse that they get on X is from a different stratosphere – death threats and personalised, vicious bile directed at them and their families.
[ Amateur rugby officials don’t give up their time to be insulted and abusedOpens in new window ]
World Rugby actively sought to protect their officials from that abuse with a man successfully prosecuted in April last year. It’s also important to note that match officials are less of a gilded caste that their detractors would assert. They have been held to account in the past and been stood down for below par performances.
Match officials are looking for greater protection and that’s why the URC ruling, while slightly slow-moving in reaching a conclusion, is unequivocal in its findings.
Hansen will miss the province’s upcoming Challenge Cup pool games against Lyon and Cardiff and also a URC clash with Glasgow Warriors but will be eligible for Ireland’s opening match in the Six Nations against England at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday. February 1st.
The player has apologised, his statement reading: “People know I always wear my heart on my sleeve. However, after the Leinster game, on this occasion, I let my emotions get the better of me. Upon reflection, my comments to the media were ill-advised, and fell far short of the standards I expect of myself, and what the sport expects of its players.
“I want to offer an apology to the match officials for any distress my comments may have caused. Our games are built on mutual respect, and I didn’t show that after the game. I also want to apologise to the URC, and I fully accept the findings of the independent disciplinary panel.
“I love Connacht, and I love rugby. Moving forward, I will channel all my energy and passion into representing my province and country to the absolute best of my ability – both on and off the field.”
The nuts and bolts of the disciplinary sanctions pointed to the fact that the player was charged with misconduct in breach of nine clauses of the disciplinary rules.
The disciplinary panel consisted of Roger Morris (Chair, Wales), Nigel Williams (Wales) and Stefan Terblanche (South Africa) who, according to the official RC communique, “considered that attaching a learning process would have a more positive outcome rather than merely applying a playing sanction”.
Further to the six-week ban, reduced to three, the following sanctions were imposed: Hansen must apologise to referee Chris Busby, who presided over the aforementioned game between the provinces; he must undertake “an appropriate course (related to match officiating) as decided by Tappe Henning (URC head of match officials) and Dudley Phillips (IRFU head of referees) with the learnings to be disseminated with his team-mates at Connacht; and Connacht Rugby must run an education session with their players about how to conduct themselves in post-match media sessions and interactions with the media.
The disciplinary panel decided upon a €10,000 suspended fine to Connacht for failing to exercise control over their personnel in this incident. This period of suspension shall run until the end of the 2024/25 season. No sanction will not be applied unless there is a further breach during this time.
Hansen will miss the following games:
January 11th: v Lyon Rugby (EPCR Challenge Cup)
January 17th: v Cardiff Rugby (EPCR Challenge Cup)
January 24th: v Glasgow Warriors (BKT United Rugby Championship)
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