CRAIG Joubert can count himself lucky that he is a rugby referee.

For had he been overseeing an international football match at the weekend, the reaction to his awarding of Australia’s match-winning penalty against Scotland would have been very different.

As it is, Joubert has still come in for plenty of criticism.

He was roundly hounded for not consulting the television match official (TMO), even though the rules did not allow him to because the incident did not involve a try or foul play.

He was also widely condemned for running from the pitch immediately upon blowing the final whistle, something that does not cover him in any glory.

That action alone tarnished rugby’s well-earned image of good sportsmanship at the end of matches.

Joubert’s employers World Rugby also said the South African official was wrong to award a penalty to the Aussies and should have opted for a scrum instead.

To say, therefore, the 37-year-old hasn’t come out of this episode well would be a significant understatement.

But this is about as far as things will go.

No amount of finger-pointing, screaming or shouting will change the result.

Yet, imagine for a moment if this had been a football match.

By now Joubert would have been chased back to his homeland and had his address printed in a national newspaper.

That’s what happened when Swiss official Urs Meier disallowed a goal for England against Portugal at Euro 2004, denying them a place in the semi-finals.

Meier received death threats, as well as 16,000 hate-emails and 5,000 abusive phone calls, from enraged fans and was eventually forced into hiding such was the extent of the vitriol towards him.

Similarly, Swedish referee Anders Frisk quit the game in 2005 having also received death threats against him and his family after Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho was highly critical of his display during a Champions League match against Barcelona.

For Scotland to lose in those circumstances at Twickenham, following a battling display and with a World Cup semi-final spot at stake, the criticism towards Joubert has been understandable.

Thankfully, unlike football, rugby knows where to draw the line.