Wayne Barnes: '20-minute red card makes perfect sense'

OPINION: Former referee Wayne Barnes has come out in support of the 20-minute red card while it is being trialed in the current Nations Series.

Barnes announced his retirement from officiating on November 2, 2023, and has since joined the Ireland Rugby Football (RFU) Board to continue his invaluable contribution to our sport.

One of the all-time greats, Barnes’ stellar test refereeing career spanned 17 years, a record 111 tests, five World Cups, and numerous domestic and European Finals.

Wayne has joined the @RFU Board to continue his invaluable contribution to our sport.

In an open and honest article in The Telegraph, Barnes details the difficulty of finding consensus on the right decision and argues that reducing its consequences makes perfect sense.

He refers to the World Cup Final when he sent All Blacks captain Sam Cane to the sideline with a red card, thus reducing the New Zealand team to 14 players close to the end of the game. He says he knew it would be a decision that would impact himself and Cane for the rest of their lives.

In the article, he highlights other examples of red cards in crucial matches, like the one Lydia Thompson, the Red Roses wing, received in the World Cup Final in 2017 for a dangerous tackle just 18 minutes in.

That red card impacted her so dramatically that she considered retirement.

Barnes writes: “Examples like those are one of the reasons why a 20-minute red card will be trialled during the Nations Series.

“Match officials will distinguish between deliberate acts of foul play and unintentional ones. No one who watched either World Cup final would say either Cane or Thompson intentionally tried to tackle their opponent high; they simply got their technique wrong and were severely punished for that slight error in judgement.

“We are asking players to play the game at a higher speed than ever before and under more fatigue, but we also ask them not to make mistakes more than ever.”

Barnes then goes on to explain how the trial will work.

“For clarity, this is how it will work. If a referee decides an incident of foul play is so serious that a red card is required, but decides that the incident was not deliberate or intentional, then the offending player will be permanently removed from the match.

“But after 20 minutes that player will be replaced, and the team will be back to 15 players. It is still a substantial punishment, but 39 minutes less than Bath endured when Obano was red carded against Northampton at Twickenham, for example.”

According to Barnes men and women of the International Rugby Match Officials (IRMO) association were directly involved in the discussion process around the 20-minute red card and they all had a consensus that it would benefit players and officials going forward.

He stated that critical decisions when it comes to foul play incidents in the past, are rarely agreed upon.

“I have been part of calibration meetings where the great and good of the game have discussed foul play incidents after being given days to prepare for meetings to decide upon their views. These meetings include Joe Schmidt, Jacques Nienaber, Jamie Roberts, and Ugo Monye to name just a few. Not a single clip has received unanimity as to what decision should be given. Yet people expect referees to get it ‘right’.”

It has been widely reported that Barnes and other referees have endured online abuse for years following critical decisions they made on the pitch in key matches.

“We all know that when people disagree with match officials – be it coaches, commentators, or the general public – online abuse follows. Reducing the impact of the decision on a team, will hopefully reduce the likelihood of a social media pile-on that we have seen too often and I know from personal experience can be horrific.”

He also highlighted the challenge of distinguishing between a permanent red card, a 20-minute red card, and a yellow card.

“I wonder if there is a need for the permanent red card, as only deliberate acts of foul play, or thuggery, will receive a permanent red card. I believe, though, that real thuggery is a thing of the past…the game has changed.

“I am not sure there will be unanimity on the final decision to introduce a 20-minute red card beyond this Nations Series. There are some very different views on the proposals, and what such a law change may mean for players, match officials, and fans. And all those views will have to be heard.”