England referee Wayne Barnes has confirmed he will retire following next year's Rugby World Cup in Japan.
Barnes, who refereed the All Blacks' 40-12 Bledisloe Cup win over Australia last weekend, revealed the news to UK publication the Guardian.
He said he wants to give more time to his other job - a barrister specialising in bribery and corruption - and spend more time with his young family.
New Zealanders remember Barnes for the controversial calls he made in the All Blacks' quarter-final defeat to France at the 2007 World Cup.
He sin-binned Luke McAlister and also missed a deliberate forward pass, which resulted in France scoring a crucial try in their famous 20-18 win.
Barnes later revealed the fallout affected him.
"It affected me, my family and friends, because my name was in the paper and you don't want to be the centre of attention," he told the Sunday Times.
"I was young, so I was keen to learn from what happened in 2007 and I have done that,"
The 39-year-old has refereed 200 England Premiership games and 81 test matches, including two World Cup semi-finals.
Newshub.
