A rugby fan from Brisbane admitted sending "vile" abuse to a match official and his family during last year's Rugby World Cup in France.
Aaron Isaia, 22, sent the messages during the match between England and Samoa, in which Samoa had a player sent off and a try disallowed and England came from behind to win the match 18-17.
The messages Isaia sent were directed towards the television match official via Facebook. The contents of what Isaia sent were directed towards the official, his wife and reportedly mentioned the man's children.
Isaia was born in New Zealand but now lives in Brisbane, and was described as a devout Christian.
He appeared in court yesterday, pleading guilty to one count of ‘using a carriage service to menace or harass via online communication.
He was not convicted, but instead handed a $1000 good behaviour bond for 12 months, as reported by Nine News.
World Rugby chief executive Alan Gilpin said World Rugby welcomed the landmark outcome.
“The vile and toxic abuse is an all too common occurrence for many sports men and women and public figures, and we hope that this sends a very strong message to online trolls that such behaviour is totally unacceptable and that the sport and the authorities are prepared to take action,” said Gilpin.
World Rugby has renewed its partnership with Signify Group for the next three years, with their Threat Matrix service monitoring abusive content aimed at World Rugby’s match officials and their families.
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