French referee Laurent Abrial under investigation following actions in Wheelchair World Cup Final

Much was made of the officiating during the Wheelchair World Cup final on Friday, particularly the actions of French official Laurent Abrial.

He was visibly upset following England’s match winning try and his integrity has been questioned over his actions and a number of decisions he made during the fixture.

Now the IRL has announced they will starting an investigation into Abrial’s actions during the game.

They have released the following statement;

[‘International Rugby League has launched an investigation into the behaviour and actions of match official Laurent Abrial during the Wheelchair Rugby League World Cup final between England and France at Manchester Central on Friday night.

IRL Secretary General Danny Kazandjian said: “The referee’s performance is currently being reviewed but, based on publicly available evidence, IRL believes that an investigation into potential misconduct is warranted.

“If our investigation supports that initial view we will seek disciplinary actions through the independent IRL judiciary.

“Until the full process is concluded Laurent Abrial will not be considered for any appointments to international matches.”]