Quesada becomes first coach banned under World Rugby's new referee abuse process

Gonzalo Quesada has become the first coach suspended under World Rugby’s new Match Official Abuse Sanction Process, receiving an automatic two-match ban after publicly criticising referee Luc Ramos following Italy’s 47-17 Nations Championship defeat to New Zealand in Wellington on Saturday.

World Rugby confirmed the punishment on Wednesday. Quesada is banned from all match-day activities — including being present in the stadium — for Italy’s round three fixture against Australia in Perth on Saturday. The governing body confirmed the Italian head coach retains the right to appeal before a full judicial committee.

The new framework was introduced this month following discussions at World Rugby’s Shape of the Game forum and now applies across all international fixtures involving World Rugby-appointed match officials. It covers the Nations Championship, the World Rugby Junior World Championship, WXV, and the Nations Cup.

An independent panel — comprising the independent judicial panel chair and two experienced judicial panel members — reviews comments made by coaches and team personnel to determine whether they undermine public confidence in match officials. The framework specifically targets allegations of bias, prejudice, improper motive, external influence, or deliberate attempts to influence the outcome of a match.

Sanctions range from no further action and guidance letters through to formal warnings and automatic suspensions, running alongside existing misconduct regulations. Quesada is the first individual to reach the suspension threshold under the policy.

World Rugby said the initiative was introduced in response to increasing levels of abuse and threats directed at referees. The governing body cited its social media protection programme, which found that a significant proportion of online abuse towards officials originates from inaccurate public comments made by figures in positions of authority.