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Auckland - An Auckland resident who happens to have the same name as New Zealand referee Bryce Lawrence is praying for his phone to stop ringing, the New Zealand Herald reported on Friday.
Lawrence, who said he has nothing to do with rugby, had been harassed to the extent that he had contacted his local service provider to have his number removed from the websites where it was posted.
This comes after his number was posted on a website.
“I think the Police have and Telecom have taken it off the site,” said Lawrence.
“I don’t think it hasn’t got my direct phone number now.”
The report also refers to a podcast that was made by radio prankster Darren “Wackhead” Simpson.
Simpson’s call reached who he believed to be the referee at 4am New Zealand time.
Prior to the prank Simpson gave his reasons for hassling the referee.
“I got a hold of his number, it was easier than I thought and this is a little bit of payback,” said Simpson.
“I thought I would let him know how the South Africans feel about it.”
Lawrence, the Rugby World Cup match official, had been heavily criticised for his adjudication of the 11-9 quarter-final defeat the Springboks suffered against Australia in Wellington last week.
Retired Springbok skipper John Smit and South Africa Rugby’s manager of referees, Andre Watson, made their views on Lawrence’s performance public while thousands of disappointed fans have joined a Facebook petition.
Lawrence, the harassed Auckland resident, told the newspaper that he had resigned him to the predicament he was in.
“Well, these things happen. It is one of those things in life.”
