Rugby World Cup bosses have officially confirmed South African referee Craig Joubert blundered in awarding the Wallabies a penalty that handed them victory over Scotland.
Joubert’s late decision in the quarterfinal against the wallabies saw Bernard Foley kick three points for a 35‑34 win.
It drew an angry reaction in Scotland and around the rugby world.
World Rugby said in a statement that they had conducted a full review of match officials’ performance and clarified Joubert’s decision, finding he had made a mistake and should have awarded a scrum to Australia for an initial knock‑on.
They said Joubert had incorrectly penalized Scotland's Jon Welsh, who had played the ball following a knock‑on by a team‑mate, resulting in an offside.
On review of all available angles, it is clear that after the knock‑on, the ball was touched by Australia's Nick Phipps and the law states that a player can be put on-side by an opponent who intentionally plays the ball.
World Rugby said that it is important to clarify that, under the protocols, the referee could not refer to the television match official in this case and therefore had to rely on what he saw in real time.
Source: Stuff.co
