Officials at Johnny Sexton Center Abuse Storm to Judge World Cup Opening

Jaco Paper (left) removes Sebastien Wahamahina during the Welsh tournament. quarter-final victory over France in 2019. Credit: AP/Christophe Ena

Match officials at the center of the Johnny Sexton European Cup abuse scandal lined up for this year's World Cup opening match.

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Telegraph Sport can report that Jaco Peiper will referee the most anticipated World Cup opener in history as France look to kick off their home World Cup with a win over longtime rivals New Zealand.

As was the case with the final victory La Rochelle in Europe over Leinster in May, the South African will referee alongside English trio Karl Dixon, Christophe Ridley and Tom Foley on 8 September at the Stade de France. as the official representative of the televised match.

Officials have been briefed on their provisional appointments, according to Telegraph Sport, but the approved list will be released by World Rugby this month. Changes to the draft are unlikely, but could happen if a referee gets injured or falls out of shape dramatically.

Paper will appear in the Blue Ribbon Rugby Tournament for the third time, and this will be his second opening game. The 43-year-old referee officiated England's first leg of the 2015 tournament against Fiji. This campaign ended with the hosts being eliminated in the group stage for the first time in their history.

The South African is no stranger to World Cup controversy. In 2019, World Rugby suspended Peiper from officiating in any of the semi-finals and named Nigel Owens as referee for defending champions New Zealand against England.

Paper was forced to apologize for posing for a photo with a group of Welsh fans while holding right elbow horizontal and facing one of the supporters, a gesture clearly mocking a pivotal incident in Wales' quarter-final return win over France in which he was the referee when French lock Sebastian Wahamahina was sent off for violent play.

Jaco Peiper in honor of Wakhamahina. Photo de Fabien Heuzé pic.twitter.com/g5vo93413s

— Arnaud Coudry (@ArnaudCoudry) October 20, 2019

Earlier this month, Ireland captain Sexton was suspended for three matches after being was found guilty. of the match official's verbal abuse during Leinster's loss at the Aviva Stadium.

The Independent Disciplinary Committee deemed Sexton's behavior «confrontational, aggressive and disrespectful to match officials», with Sexton «pointing the finger» and » shouting something like «It's a shame you guys can't make big decisions right», probably followed by «most likely an f-word» swearing at referee Peiper and his deputies, Dixon and Ridley.

The committee added: «[Sexton's] conduct was clearly unsportsmanlike and damaged the reputation of rugby.»

The midfielder will not be available for selection until Ireland's first World Cup match against Romania on 9 September.