Wayne Barnes is the least popular man in Ireland right now

There are many reasons why the team in red are on top, but for a lot of Ireland supporters the finger of blame is pointed firmly in one direction - toward the man in black.

Ireland had a tough afternoon against the Welsh in the Millennium Stadium this afternoon, losing the game 23-16.

There are many reasons why theWelsh side, but for a lot of Ireland supporters the finger of blame is pointed firmly in one direction - toward the man in black.

To be fair, some were complaining about England’s Wayne Barnes being the choice of referee even before the game started.

Wayne Barnes is the ref! Bloody hell! #Ireland

— Sarah Morris #SupportsMedicalScientists (@sazzybm) March 14, 2015

Then the game kicked off and the whistle started blowing.

Breaking: Wayne Barnes enters Guinness Book of Records for awarding 1745632 penalties in one game #WALvIRE

— Colm Rowsome (@trublu1972) March 14, 2015

Wayne Barnes might as well be wearing a red jersey and waving a daffodil #WALvIRE #wales #ireland

— Katie Dawson (@katiedawson23) March 14, 2015

Even George Hook is complaining.

How many penalties can Wayne Barnes award in a match??

— George Hook (@ghook) March 14, 2015

Maybe Barnes could feel the hostility coming his way across the Irish Sea.

In the interest of fairness it’s worth pointing out that not everybody thinks he is helping the Welsh and we may be a teeny bit biased.

Wayne Barnes having a good game! These Irish forwards continuously go down to the wire & tend to deliberately hang around off-side!

— David Buik (@truemagic68) March 14, 2015