The Vodacom URC has moved quickly to dismiss speculation that Andrea Piardi was punished for his role in last week’s drama in the Bulls-Munster clash.

In an official statement on Friday, the URC confirmed an officiating error during Munster’s defeat at Thomond Park, when referee Piardi incorrectly reduced the hosts to 14 players.

The incident occurred in the 52nd minute after Munster lost their second tighthead prop to injury, forcing uncontested scrums. Piardi was wrongly advised that Munster needed to remove a player due to technical officials’ app failure.

“Performance issues meant the app was not working correctly,” the URC explained. Munster’s Alex Kendellen was subsequently removed before being allowed to return in the 66th minute once “the error was recognised”.

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The organisers have outlined remedial actions, emphasising that “referees will be made aware that they must own the process and are ultimately responsible for the final decision”.

The URC addressed Piardi’s absence from this week’s fixtures, stating he “was not originally scheduled to officiate in round 16 this weekend and any reporting to the contrary is entirely untrue”.

However, the incident could significantly impact Munster’s playoff positioning as the Irish club battle for a top-four finish.

Earlier this week, former Ireland international Bernard Jackman expressed concern about officiating standards. However, he acknowledged Piardi was placed in a difficult position by relying on incorrect information.

“There’s rarely a week that I don’t see something in a game that I wonder how they missed that,” he said on RTÉ‘s rugby podcast.

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