New Zealand Rugby [NZR] CEO Mark Robinson has come out in staunch support of referee Ben O'Keeffe, after the whistleblower revealed he had received death threats following the Super Rugby Pacific final on Saturday night.
In a statement on Monday, Robinson said NZR firmly back O'Keeffe and all referees and that there was no place in the game for such abuse.
"New Zealand Rugby firmly stands behind Ben and all referees who are involved in our game.
"Referees play an integral part in our sport... [I want to] make it clear, that there is no place in our sport for abuse. I encourage everyone in the rugby community to play an active role in standing up for abuse and behaviour that goes against the values of the game."
O'Keeffe had earlier published an Instagram post detailing the vitriolic abuse and threats of violence he had received after refereeing the decider, which the Crusaders won 25-20 over the Chiefs in Hamilton on Saturday night.
The 31-Test official sent three Chiefs players from the pitch with yellow cards during the match, while a missed forward pass in the movement leading up to a try by the Crusaders was the only obvious error of the night.
Taking screenshots of the many abusive comments and messages he'd received, O'Keeffe wrote that while he has "had to accept and grow accustomed to the post-match vitriol that fans normalize post game," abuse is never ok and he hopes his family will never be targeted.
"It's a sad reality that it doesn't affect me anymore, but that doesn't mean it's ok.
"I think back to the Europe League final referee walking through the airport and his family getting chairs thrown at them - I hope my family is never subjected to this but the direction some fans are going now in rugby, I know we are closer than we have ever been.
"This is one of the many recent examples when someone has crossed the line towards a match official in rugby."
Chiefs coach Clayton McMillan refused to criticise the officials, but he was clearly unhappy with decisions made against his team.
"It's going to be tough to beat the Crusaders when you have three yellow cards," he said. "It's one of those things where I'll have to have a good look and determine if they were the right calls.
"The referee obviously deemed it was. And I think that that probably played a part in the outcome.
"I don't want to bag the referee. The crowd did that at the end of the game, maybe that says something."