Thomas Ramos suspended for five weeks

Ramos was issued with a red card by the referee, Andrea Piardi (Italy), in the 80th minute of the match for striking the Sale Sharks full back, Byron McGuigan, with his head in contravention of Law 9.12.

Law 9.12 A player must not physically abuse anyone.
Under World Rugby’s Sanctions for Foul Play, Law 9.12 relating to striking with the head carries the following sanction entry points – Low End: 6 weeks; Mid-range: 10 weeks; Top end: 16 to 52 weeks.

Ramos was also cited by the match Citing Commissioner, Ed Kenny (Ireland), for allegedly making contact with the eye or eye area of the Sale Sharks scrum-half, Gus Warr, in the 56th minute of the match in contravention of Law 9.12.

Law 9.12 A player must not physically abuse anyone.
Under World Rugby’s Sanctions for Foul Play, Law 9.12 relating to contact with the eye or eye area carries the following sanction entry points – Low End: 4 weeks; Mid-range: 8 weeks; Top end: 12 to 52 weeks.

An independent Disciplinary Committee comprising Daniel White (England), Chair, Donal Courtney (Ireland) and Bogdan Zebega (Romania) heard the two cases consecutively.

The committee considered video imagery of the incidents and took evidence from Ramos and from Warr. It also took submissions from Ramos’ legal representative, Neil Robertson, from the Stade Toulousain Head Coach, Ugo Mola, from the Stade Toulousain High Performance Manager, Jerome Cazalbou, and from the EPCR Disciplinary Officer, Liam McTiernan.

Ramos accepted the red card decision, however, in relation to the citing complaint, he did not accept that he made contact with the eye area of Warr.

With regard to the citing, the committee upheld the complaint, finding that Ramos had made intentional contact with Warr’s eye area. It determined that the offence was at the mid-range of World Rugby’s sanctions and eight weeks was selected as the appropriate entry point.

As Ramos did not accept that he had committed the offence, the committee was not able to grant him the full 50% mitigation, and it reduced the sanction by three weeks before imposing a suspension of five weeks.

The red card decision was also upheld with the committee finding that Ramos had struck McGuigan with his head. It determined that the offence was at the low end of World Rugby’s sanctions and six weeks was selected as the appropriate entry point.

Taking into account Ramos’ guilty plea, the committee reduced the sanction by two weeks before imposing a suspension of four weeks.

The committee then decided that the two sanctions of five weeks and four weeks should run concurrently and Ramos is therefore free to play on Monday, 23 January 2023.

Both he and EPCR have the right to appeal both decisions.

Notes

(i) Red Cards
a) The case of any player sent off in Heineken Champions Cup and EPCR Challenge Cup matches shall be adjudicated by an independent Disciplinary Committee or an independent Judicial Officer as soon as is practicable.
b) Until the hearing the player is ineligible to play in any tournament.
(ii) Citing Commissioner
a) Citing Commissioners are appointed by EPCR for all Heineken Champions Cup and EPCR Challenge Cup matches and shall be entitled to cite a player for any act or acts of Foul Play that in the Citing Commissioner’s opinion warranted a red card.
b) For such matches, clubs will not have the power to cite a player but may refer incidents to the Citing Commissioner within 26 hours of the start of the match.
c) The Citing Commissioner will have 26 hours from the start of the match to make a citing. In certain circumstances this deadline can be extended.
d) The tournament Disciplinary Officer may forward the submitted citing to a Citing Officer to determine whether there are sufficient grounds for the citing to progress.
e) The Disciplinary Officer will then bring a charge against the cited player.
(iii) Disciplinary Hearing
a) The independent Disciplinary Committee or independent Judicial Officer are chosen by the chairman of the independent Disciplinary Panel, Mike Hamlin.
b) EPCR’s Disciplinary Officer presents the case against the player.
c) If a decision is upheld, the Disciplinary Committee or Judicial Officer will be required to consider the appropriate sanction under World Rugby’s sanctioning regime, which EPCR is obliged to follow. The seriousness of the player’s actions will be first assessed in order to determine which of the three stipulated entry points (lower end, mid-range and top end) is the most appropriate.
d) The Disciplinary Committee or Judicial Officer will determine the appropriate entry point based on an assessment of a number of particular characteristics of the player’s actions, including whether or not they were intentional, whether or not they caused any injuries and whether or not they had any effect on the relevant match.
e) After deciding the entry point, the Disciplinary Committee or Judicial Officer will then consider whether the suspension should be increased from the entry point to take account of certain specified aggravating factors, such as a poor disciplinary record or the need for deterrence, and/or decreased from the entry point to take account of certain specified mitigating actions, such as a guilty plea, a good disciplinary record, the player’s conduct at the hearing and expressions of remorse.
f) A suspension is a blanket ban from playing rugby union anywhere in the world. Players are suspended on the basis that a one-week period of suspension would ordinarily result in a player missing one match. Suspensions take into account periods of inactivity (such as the close season), periods when a player is injured or otherwise not fit to play, and when a player is not available or not expected to play. Suspensions should also take into account any out-of-season matches which are not considered to be meaningful, or which are not close enough to the season to be a determining factor in a player’s future selection.
g) Both parties to the hearing (EPCR and the player) have the right to appeal decisions. Appeals must be lodged within three (3) working days of receiving the full written decision of the Disciplinary Committee or Judicial Officer.
h) The full written decision will be available on www.epcrugby.com/european-professional-club-rugby/discipline-news/hearing-decisions/ when the disciplinary process is complete.
i) For World Rugby’s Sanctions for Foul Play, found at Appendix 2 to World Rugby Regulation 17, go to world.rugby