England World Cup semi-final referee to retire after death threats towards him and his family
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Loading... - Jan Willis
- 02 Aug 2021
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The referee that took charge of England's Rugby League World Cup semi-final against Tonga last autumn is to retire after a raft of abuse - including death threats - targeting him and his family.
Australian whistler Matt Cecchin was the man in the middle when England saw off Tonga in a classic 20-18 to set up a final against Australia.
But Tonga came close to pulling off an almighty shock when Andrew Fifita crossed for a try in the final seconds.
Cecchin ruled it out for a knock-on, with the Tongans claiming the ball had been stripped. They were further angered by Cecchin's decision not to refer the try to the video referee.
He was targeted by trolls who hurled vicious abuse his way.
Cecchin was in an Auckland hotel bar hours after the game when he received a phone call from the New Zealand Federal Police who informed him of the death threats and that members of his family had also been contacted by cops after receiving similar abuse.
He was told not to leave his hotel and that he would be picked up and taken to the airport, and that Australian Federal Police would collect him on the other side.
Cecchin told the Sydney Morning Herald: "My son got hit, my partner got hit and my mum got hit with death threats.
“I started thumbing through my phone and there were more than a thousand messages. They were vile. I’ve never had that before in my whole career, even after Origins and grand finals.
"When I got home to Sydney, our house was put on alert. I was picked up from the airport by the AFP. It was really, really serious. I don’t like attention as a referee. I want to do my job without any fuss and then leave.
"The reality is that after that game, and for the first chunk of this year with all the noise that’s been out there, it’s been tough. Really, really tough.”
Cecchin will referee his 300th NRL game on Sunday when Penrith Panthers take on Canberra raiders - but will call time on his career at the end of the season following the horrific abuse.
