’16th player for France’: Springboks fans continue to troll ref Ben O’Keeffe

Springboks fans have continued to voice their distrust of the New Zealand referee who will oversee the South Africa vs France Rugby World Cup quarter-final game on Sunday, 15 October.

The Kiwi has faced an onslaught of social media abuse, particularly after fans criticised his ruling after SA’s group stage loss to Ireland. He’s even been forced to delete insulting comments on his Instagram account.

SA will face off against the World Cup host nation at the Stade De France.

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SPRINGBOKS FANS TROLL BEN O’KEEFFE

Rugby fans – particularly South Africans – have continued to ignore referee Ben O’Keeffe’s plea to stop cyberbullying him. 

On his Instagram account, Springboks fans have left warnings in the comments section for the New Zealand Rugby World Cup official to remain neutral during SA’s clash against France.

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Some of the comments read: 

“16th player for France”

“Voetsek, you cant ref for s**t”

“One of the most biased refs I have ever seen.”

Others were still annoyed at Ben’s ruling in SA’s pool game against Ireland.

“What did Ireland pay you? A holiday home in Dublin?” asked one Instagram user.

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FAVOURITISM TOWARDS TO FRENCH CAPTAIN?

Meanwhile, South Africans are concerned about how Ben O’Keeffe will rule when it comes to tackles to the head to French captain Antoine Dupont.

The French player suffered a broken cheekbone during a group stage match against Namibia earlier on in the Rugby World Cup.

With his return in the quarter-final against SA is a warning to the Springboks: Touch the captain and face the consequence.

Dupont’s teammate Gregory Alldritt told RugbyPass: “We know that in rugby if you touch the head, it’s a red card@.