Chris Busby is set to continue refereeing in the United Rugby Championship despite recent reports that he was about to retire.
It had been believed that Busby was set to step away from officiating. He had initially been appointed as an assistant referee for two upcoming Six Nations matches, but he is no longer listed for those games.
He will, though, be running the touchline for Leinster’s clash with the Stormers on Saturday at the Aviva Stadium.
Antrim native Busby was in charge of last month’s URC game between Connacht and Leinster at the Aviva Stadium. Following the game Connacht’s Mack Hansen spoke out critically about how the province have been refereed in recent times, leading to him receiving a suspension. The rumours of Busby’s retirement emerged shortly after.
But Adam Redmond, the URC’s head of communications, has confirmed that Busby’s availability will continue beyond this weekend.
“For the remainder of the season, he does remain available for selection,” said Redmond.
Following his comments, Hansen was banned for six matches (with three suspended), while he also must undergo a course and share his learnings with Connacht team-mates. The URC have said clarity on the education part of Hansen’s punishment is forthcoming.
“I would say you’ll probably see something more public about what occurs as a result and it will not necessarily be as it was described in the press release as a simple, ‘Hey guys, don’t say something bad about a referee in a post-match environment,’” said Redmond.
“There will be very much an education exercise that will probably get applied across all 16 teams.
“It’s a two-way process and Tappe [Henning, head of URC match officials] is very keen that the engagement that happens with Mack is seen as him having a chance to give a player’s perspective on everything.”
The URC is also exploring how to clarify contentious decisions to fans in the midst of criticism surrounding an apparent lack of accountability for referees.
Henning has acknowledged that the URC “can improve” on the public explanation of refereeing talking points, perhaps in a similar way to how Howard Webb, the Premier League’s chief referee official, regularly appears on Sky Sports to discuss controversial decisions.
While the URC doesn’t necessarily have the same relationship with a broadcaster that mirrors the one between Premier League and Sky, the league is planning some sort of public discussion.
“We are looking to facilitate that, where we can ask about the decisions in a game and what are the outcomes,” said Henning.
“I am keen to explore that with the URC, where we can clarify decisions of the referee and the process that he undertook. And where we can hold our hands up and say what we got wrong or indeed also clarify that the referee was correct. I would like if that could happen.”
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