Rugby referee Chris Busby will step down from refereeing after Mack Hansen’s critical comments resulted in a ban for the Ireland international.
Busby has been appointed as assistant referee for the France-Wales and Italy-France matches in this year’s Six Nations, but BBC Sport NI has learned that Sunday’s game between Bath and Clermont in the Investec Champions Cup will be his last professional game as a referee.
There will be Irish winger Hansen suspended for three matches after he criticized Busby and his refereeing team following Connacht’s loss to Leinster in the United Rugby Championship last month.
Hansen was handed a six-week suspension, three of which means he will be available for Ireland’s Six Nations campaign.
Hansen said refereeing the match at the Aviva Stadium on December 21 left him with the impression that Connacht were playing against “16 men”.
As part of the sanctions, Australian-born Hansen – for whom a longer ban would impact his availability for the Six Nations – must apologize to referee Busby and undertake “appropriate coursework relating to match officiating”.
While it is believed that Busby’s decision was due to personal reasons, the episode with Hansen is believed to have had an influence.
