Irish ref at centre of Mack Hansen’s outburst speaks out as he confirms ‘widely reported’ retirement
Chris Busby has spoken out for the first time since the incident.
Irish match official Chris Busby has announced that he will retire from professional refereeing ‘over the next few months’ after he was at the centre of Mack Hansen’s outburst.
Hansen was handed a six-week ban – three of which suspended – and was required to issue an apology to the officials and undertake an appropriate course related to match officiating.
The Connacht winger slammed the officials during the press conference after his side’s United Rugby Championship (URC) defeat to Leinster as he felt that his side ‘never get any calls’ going their way.
Busby retires
Shortly after the incident, it was reported that Busby, who officiated the game, would be hanging up his whistle with Hansen’s outburst being the ‘tipping point’ for the promising official who feels that referees do not get enough protection from the governing bodies.
The incident has caused widespread debate with Ronan O’Gara, Joe Marler, Alan Quinlan and Nigel Owens all expressing their opinion on what unfolded while URC head of match officials Tappe Henning addressed the abuse of referees and the standards that they are held to.
Now, Busby has announced his impending retirement in a LinkedIn post.
“As has been widely reported over the past few weeks, I’ve decided to hang up the whistle and will be retiring from professional rugby over the next few months,” the post read.
“It’s been a truly amazing journey, allowing me to share the pitch with some of the best players in the world, and taking me to stadiums and places I could barely have dreamed of when I started reffing.
“There are too many people who have supported me to thank individually, but my wife and family have always provided amazing support, and have made so many sacrifices to allow me to travel the world. I’ll also always be grateful for the work and friendship of my coaches, David Wilkinson and Johnny Lacey, who somehow managed to take me from reffing 4XV games in Ulster to the middle of some amazing Test Matches and RWC2023 in France!
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“I know the transition away from professional sport will have its challenges over the next few months, but I can’t wait to get started on the next chapter. If you have any thoughts, experiences or connections that might help me identify opportunities where I can put my skills to good use, I’d love to have a chat or grab a coffee.
“Thanks to all the players, coaches, fans, and especially the refereeing community who have made it all possible – through all the highs and lows, I’ve absolutely loved every second of it!”
“Sometimes reasons behind decisions”
Busby is set to feature in two Six Nations matches as he has been appointed as the assistant referee for the round three tie between Scotland and England at Murrayfield and the Super Saturday clash between Wales and Italy.
Speaking ahead of the tournament, IRFU performance director David Humphreys rued the departure of Busby.
“On the Chris Busby thing, absolutely, losing a referee who is coming into the peak of his career is a huge loss,” he said.
“But I think there’s also elements to that which, we talk about players and moving players, there’s sometimes reasons behind decisions which sometimes aren’t in the public domain.”
