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A two-match ban for saying he didn’t like the officiating. That is the sanction World Rugby has handed Gonzalo Quesada, Italy’s head coach, for his comments after the 47-17 defeat to the All Blacks in Wellington. Quesada will miss Australia-Italy in Perth on Saturday 18 July and the first November Test against South Africa. The Italian Rugby Federation has already announced an appeal.
What the sanction involves
World Rugby announced an automatic two-match suspension, issued “in line with the provisions of the match official abuse sanctioning process”. The ban goes beyond the coaching box: it includes a prohibition on any match-day activity, including attending the stadium.
Two games are affected: the trip to Perth to face Australia on Saturday 18 July, round three of the Nations Championship, and Italy-South Africa on 6 November, the first Test of the autumn window.
The words that cost him the ban
After the Wellington defeat on 11 July, Quesada described the officiating of French referee Luc Ramos as “poor”, explaining episode by episode why he disagreed.
“I believe a couple of tries should not have been awarded.”
The head coach defended the try disallowed to Menoncello (“the opponent wouldn’t release him despite the referee’s instruction to do so”), called the red card shown to Niccolò Cannone “a bit harsh” — held on the ground, according to Quesada, by the opposition’s number 17 in an incident that was never reviewed — and argued the All Blacks’ number 10 deserved a yellow card too. Firm words, but no personal attacks: Quesada himself closed by saying he never likes talking about the referee, but wants to defend his players when he sees their efforts. On TV he also questioned the tournament’s format, echoing France head coach Fabien Galthié.
Why the ban is “automatic”: the new directives
The sanction is the first application of the new disciplinary process introduced in July by World Rugby, born out of the recent “Shape of the Game” forum: a crackdown on public statements about officiating. In its reasoning, World Rugby cites its match official social media protection programme, according to which, since 2023, a large share of online abuse starts with inaccurate comments about refereeing performances made by people in positions of authority.
When will Quesada be back in charge?
Unless the appeal changes things, Quesada will miss Australia-Italy on 18 July and Italy-South Africa on 6 November, returning for the second Test of the autumn window. The FIR has announced an appeal: the procedure allows a challenge before a full disciplinary committee, as confirmed by World Rugby itself.
A decision bound to divide
For DanPat the punishment is disproportionate: closer to censorship than protection, given remarks that amounted to a measured technical assessment of a performance. It is an issue that goes well beyond the Quesada case — we unpack it in our dedicated opinion piece.
Read also
- Respect or censorship? Rugby’s real problem isn’t opinions
- Luc Ramos and the officiating controversies of New Zealand-Italy
- New Zealand-Italy 47-17: a great first half wasn’t enough
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