Wellington rugby referees will not be appointed to any grade for the weekend of 10 to 12 July following further reports of abuse towards match officials.
The Wellington Rugby Referees Association said its executive committee made the decision after three more referee abuse incidents were reported on Saturday.
WRRA President and Chair Ben Van Berkel said the association had previously advised the Wellington Rugby Football Union that it would not appoint referees if abuse continued.
He said there had already been 19 reported incidents of verbal abuse towards referees this season.
Van Berkel said the incidents had occurred across junior club rugby, secondary schools rugby and senior club rugby.
WRRA said reports had come from referees and members of the public, and that the abuse had come from players, club and school volunteers, and spectators.
“The WRRA continues, and will continue, to support Wellington Rugby but we have a duty and obligation to support and protect our members first and foremost,” Van Berkel said.
He said the decision was not made lightly, but the association believed all reasonable options had been exhausted.
WRRA has advised Wellington Rugby Football Union chief executive Tony Giles of the decision and said it looked forward to working closely with him on the issue.
Wellington News has contacted Wellington Rugby Football Union for comment.
