Nouvelles tristes:Crackdown en cours suite à l’agression envers des joueurs français.
A growing number of incidences of online harassment targeting rugby sportsmen prompted a French players’ organization to create a portal where players could report online abuse.
Following several high-profile cases that grabbed French headlines in recent months, Provale Rugby is now acting.
A new online form is part of this initiative, allowing players to report instances of cyberharassment and provide evidence in the form of voice or written messages. The form asks users to specify the medium through which the abuse was received, such as text messages or social media sites like Facebook, Instagram, or X.
Provale has promised to assist the players during the court proceedings by acting as a “civil party” in each case.
This development follows an increase in the number of incidents in which players have encountered threats and insults on the internet. After a loss in February, ASM Clermont-Auvergne players Rabah Slimani, Folau Fainga’a, and winger Alivereti Raka received a barrage of hate mail.
The harassment was so distressing that Raka thought about giving up professional rugby and going back to Fiji, according to reports from the local newspaper La Montagne.
Despite the high operating costs, Provale has now been forced to create this specialized section in response to the increase in cyber harassment cases.
These kinds of problems are not unique to Clermont. Almost a year ago, following a defeat to Toulouse, comparable issues surfaced. The team was forced to republish a press statement emphasizing the continuous fight against what they refer to as inappropriate actions by a small percentage of self-described “fans.”
Provale’s effort attempts to address and stop the practice by giving impacted players a way to report offenders and get support.
There were problems at the Rugby World Cup in France, and the World Rugby software finally resulted in Australia’s first-ever fan prosecution.
The Threat Matrix technology was utilized by World Rugby’s internet abuse program to track down and punish an Australian who had harassed a referee. A 22-year-old New Zealand native avoided having a criminal record despite being fined $1,000 Australian.
“World Rugby is pleased with this historic result,” stated Alan Gilpin, Chief Executive of World Rugby. We hope that this sends a very clear message to online trolls that such behavior is utterly unacceptable and that the sport and the authorities are willing to take action. “The vile and toxic abuse is an all too common occurrence for many sportsmen and women and public figures,” the statement reads.
The World Rugby documentary Whistleblowers, which detailed match officials’ experiences during the World Cup, brought attention to the harassment and abuse that referees face earlier this year.
Following the World Cup, TMO Tom Foley resigned from international duty, citing “the pressure and scrutiny I came under after the Rugby World Cup Final, along with a torrent of criticism and abuse online” as the reason for his decision. Referee Wayne Barnes retired from the sport after overseeing the final. At the conclusion of the season, Mathieu Raynal also plans to retire.
