World Rugby Fights Back
In an unprecedented move, World Rugby recently assisted in the prosecution of a Queensland man who sent abusive and threatening messages to a match official, following a fixture at Rugby World Cup France 2023. The perpetrator was charged and convicted of using a carriage service to menace, harass or offend persons pursuant to section 474.17 of the Criminal Code 1995 (Cth).
As recently highlighted by the Australian Institute Of Sport, the nature of high-performance sport in the modern era is such that an administration’s duty of care now encompasses (at least as a mitigation measure) the protection of players and officials’ mental wellbeing. This extension appears accepted (at least by World Rugby) through prosecutions such as these, given the engagement of an independent third party to monitor players and officials social media accounts for abusive messages at last years tournament.
The prosecution, a first for sporting bodies, acts as a clear notice of intention to protect players, coaches, and officials from the “essentially decentralised and self maintained…ubiquitous, borderless and ambient” nature of social media (as eloquently expressed by the High Court in Dow Jones v Gutnick [2002] 210 CLR 575). While the capital required for World Rugby to ensure the prosecution (in some cases) outweighs the applicable penalties, the prosecution serves as a clear indication of the bodies focus moving forward, and commitment to holistic athletic well being.
It also serves as a timely reminder for all proponents to remain vigilant in airing any post-match opinions, as the High Court (albeit in defamation proceedings) kindly reminded us:
“...having taken the action to secure the commercial benefit of the Facebook functionality, the appellant bears the legal consequences.”