Olympics 2024 referee criticised for controversial no-score decision which created uproar
Gianluca Gnecchi is one of 23 match officials chosen by World Rugby to take charge of the rugby sevens competitions at the Olympics in Paris
Paris 2024 Olympics referee Gianluca Gnecchi came under fire for his glaring error in judgment during a Rugby Union clash. The 32-year-old Italian, among the appointed 23 match officials for the rugby sevens competitions from July 24th to 30th, encountered an infamous moment in his refereeing career.
Gnecchi, who was in charge during the 2021 United Rugby Championship face-off between Sigma Lions and Glasgow Warriors, made headlines for all the wrong reasons. The South African team was left disappointed after a close 13-9 loss to the Scottish side, with Jamie Bhatti scoring the only try less than three minutes into the game.
However, doubt was cast over the validity of this pivotal try after Bernard Jackman, former Ireland hooker turned coach, shared footage showing Bhatti had remarkably failed to place the ball over the line. Despite the visual evidence, Gnecchi opted not to defer to his television match official (TMO) before crediting the try to the Warriors.
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Gnecchi's decision brought about widespread criticism, most prominently from ex-Dragons and Grenoble boss Jackman who took to X (formerly Twitter) to express his disbelief, stating: "Hard to see how this try was awarded". He was joined in his critique by Cardiff fly-half Jason Tovey, who added: "That's actually embarrassing" in response to Gnecchi's choice to validate Bhatti's try, reports the Mirror.
Fans were left seething over a significant error, with one disgruntled fan lambasting the standard of European refereeing on social media: "The European refereeing standards are appalling. Funny no English or French Refs."
Despite the backlash faced by Gnecchi at the time, he is regarded as one of the top referees in rugby, earning high praise from World Rugby High Performance Sevens Referee Manager Paddy O'Brien, who said: "I am very excited to be managing a hugely experienced and talented group of match officials to Paris 2024.
"To have so many countries represented as well as knowing every region is involved gives our management team a huge amount of satisfaction and is a testament to the pathways we have had in place over the past four years."
O'Brien further highlighted the dedication of the selected officials, stating: "All those selected have worked extremely hard to ensure that when we arrive in Paris, we will have officials able to referee and officiate to the level required for such a special event."
