Welsh referee Craig Evans has responded to online abuse from a supporter and has been met with a great amount of support for doing so.

Evans took charge of Llandovery RFC’s Super Rygbi Cymru match against Ebbw Vale RFC at Church Bank last Thursday.

The game’s main talking point occurred in the first-half, when Ebbw Vale were reduced to 14-men after second-row Curtis Gregory was shown a permanent red card.

It was a savage act of violence, when Gregory stamped on the leg of Llandovery’s captain Joe Powell, with many now calling for the second-row to have a long spell on the sidelines because of it.

To the credit of referee Evans, who acted immediately late in the opening 40 minutes, telling the Ebbw Vale captain, Sion Parry, his verdict.

“We have a stamp by this player (Gregory). I did ask the question if anything aggravated it.

“My AR (assistant referee) didn’t see anything. It’s a stamp on the leg, red card. Permanent.”

That came as no surprise. However, one Ebbw Vale supporter challenged some of Evans’ other decisions throughout the encounter, which finished 31-15 to the Steelmen.

A user on X, who has since deleted the post said: “Craig Evans, you f*****g bottlejob!

“Yellow needs to come there.

“Double figures for the game, back to back in the red zone.”

But Evans took it upon himself to respond to the tweet by posting: “Thanks for tonight’s game review and positive comments, mate.

“I’ll certainly take absolutely none of them on board. WRU accredited? Ok.”

As expected, his post drew many positive replies, including former Wales centre Tom Shanklin, who posted: “Brilliant response.”

Former Dragons and Ospreys outside-half Shaun Connor added: “Great game butty, well done.”

The incident comes just weeks before Evans is scheduled to appear as a match official in November’s Nations Championship fixtures.

The referee has been confirmed as an assistant in England’s second match against Japan at Allianz Stadium, and then in the Brave Blossoms’ visit to Murrayfield to face Scotland.

The officials for the Nations Championship Finals weekend in Twickenham on 27-29 November have yet to be confirmed, so he could receive further appointments.