Irish referee throws IRFU's retirement gift in the bin
The Antrim man announced his retirement in January after being subject to public scrutiny from Mack Hansen following Leinster's 20-12 win over Connacht in the URC.
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During the match on December 21 2024, there was a decision to not review a suspected head contact from Leinster's Jordie Barrett on Bundee Aki. Hansen was incensed with the decision on the pitch and subsequently aired his grievances in the post-match press conference.
21 December 2024; Referee Chris Busby during the United Rugby Championship match between Leinster and Connacht. Pic: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile
In a quite surreal rant, Hansen described the refereeing as 'bu*****t' and claimed that decisions never go Connacht's way.
On January 9, Hansen was banned for three games for his comments, fined €10,000 and forced to apologise to Busby.
It was subsequently reported that Busby was planning to retire from refereeing at the end of the season. He confirmed those reports on January 30 this year.
It came as a big shock as Busby was still a young referee and seen as one of the best in Ireland.
It was reported that the Hansen incident was not the sole reason for Busby's decision to retire as he felt there was a lack of support from the IRFU for referees.
1 January 2024; Referee Chris Busby during the United Rugby Championship match between Connacht and Munster Pic: Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile
This has seemingly been confirmed in a LinkedIn post on Tuesday evening. In the post, Busby cites that he never received 'genuine support during the most difficult period of my professional life' and posted an image of a framed photo the IRFU had sent to him as a retirement gift in the bin.
'Today marks the end of my time with the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU),' Busby captioned the post.
'I was given a framed photo as a memento to mark the occasion.
'A gesture, I suppose. But what I really needed — and never received from IRFU leadership — was genuine support during the most difficult period of my professional life.
Chris Busby's LinkedIn Post following his retirement from the IRFU
'I'll be sharing more about that in the months ahead. For now, I'm grateful for the people I've met through the game, and looking forward to what's next.'
Extra.ie have reached out to the IRFU for comment.
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