Spain were left incensed by the officiating in their 18-10 loss to Belgium on Sunday, a result that ended their hopes of automatically qualifying for next year's Rugby World Cup.

Questions following the final whistle centred on the appointment for the fixture of Romanian referee Vlad Iordăchescu and two Romanian assistant referees, with Spain's players angrily confronting the referee at the final whistle and sarcastically applauding his performance, leading to Iordăchescu being escorted from the field by security.

The appointment of Iordachescu was made by Rugby Europe, rather than governing body World Rugby, with reports suggesting that Spain had asked for the Romanian officials to be changed given the possible outcomes of the fixture in Brussels.

Belgium fly-half Vincent Hart went on to kick six penalties, scoring all of his side's 18 points.

"The selection was made ahead of the start of the competition by the people in charge," Rugby Europe told Telegraph Sport in a statement.