Referee owed duty of care to enforce rules

The Court of Appeal found that a referee in a rugby match owed a duty of care to the players to apply reasonable care in enforcing the rules. The court dismissed an appeal by a rugby referee and the Welsh Rugby Union against a decision in favour of an amateur rugby player seriously injured in a match. The court found that players relied on enforcement of the rules for their safety in what was an inherently dangerous game. The threshold of liability was high because rugby was a fast moving, dangerous game, but the court found that the allegations of breach of duty did not involve any higher standard of skill than basic competence. The referee had allowed an inexperienced player to play in the front row in breach of the rules of the game.