Rugby World Cup referee Tom Foley receives death threats

Tom Foley said the past month had been really difficult "as a result of trolls"

A referee says he has received death threats towards him and his young family since he was involved in the Rugby World Cup Final.

Tom Foley was the television match official for the game between South Africa and New Zealand last month.

World Rugby has recorded more than 2,000 direct threats against match officials in recent weeks.

Mr Foley, who is from Somerset, said having to warn his children's school about potential threats was "not fair".

He said the comments and messages he had received included threats to hunt him down and hopes he would die in a car crash.

Listen: Somerset Rugby World Cup referee receives death threats

Another social media user said: "May they live very short lives."

Mr Foley, who has been a professional referee for more than 20 years, said he had never experienced anything on this level before.

He wants social media users to have to provide identification so they can be traced.

"You can't hide behind this faceless façade. It's cowardice. It's complete cowardice.

"They wouldn't say it to you in the street. So why do they feel that they can say it online?"

Tom Foley was a match official in the 2023 Rugby World Cup

Social media platforms say they are committed to tackling abuse, but expert at Introtweet, Pete Andrews, said the situation was "as bad as it has probably ever been".

"The platforms themselves do introduce features and there are things that we can do to have some control to be able to stop these things happening to a certain extent, but there is definitely a long way to go with it," he said.