Rugby Europe to check Spanish match

Against expectations Spain lost and with the defeat forfeited direct entry into the World Cup in 2019. Instead Romania have qualified.

At the end of the match Spanish players and officials vented their anger at the Romanian referee, Vlad Iordachescu.

Rugby Europe are the organisers of the match. Their investigation of the match will take place at Poznan in Poland on 23 March 2018.

Ted Statements

1. on Sunday, 18 March 2018: "Further to the game between Belgium and Spain, played in Brussels today, Rugby Europe would like to precise that Rugby Europe has always operated the highest standards of match official selection whatever the competitions. Our structures have provided a pathway for some of the world’s top officials.

"As for other international major competitions, referees’ appointments for Rugby Europe Championship have been made ahead of the competition by an independent and neutral skilled committee (no Rugby Europe board members involved) . It has been reviewed and confirmed during the tournament based on referees’ performance at international level.

"While we appreciate that this is a subject of high-emotion, it would be inappropriate to comment on match official performance before the usual full review has been undertaken.

"This is usual procedure and occurs for every match.”

2. on Monday 19 March 2018: "In addition to the communication release published yesterday, find the next steps in the analysis of Belgium / Spain game.

"Rugby Europe Selection Committee is waiting for the assessment report of the Supervisor for Belgium v Spain Match officials. In addition, this Committee will meet in Poznan next Friday on the occasion of the Rugby Europe Under-18 Championships. Its agenda will be modified and a large portion of the meeting will be devoted to the analysis of every stage of the Belgium vs Spain game. Following this meeting, a statement will be released to Rugby Europe Board of Directors for dissemination."