Tom Bristow red card decision not upheld The Sale Sharks prop, Tom Bristow, has had the red card decision against him dismissed following an independent Disciplinary Hearing today (Wednesday, 19 December) arising from his club’s Challenge Cup, Round 4 match against Bordeaux-Bègles at the AJ Bell Stadium. Bristow was sent off by referee, Sean Gallagher (Ireland), in the 45^th minute of the match for striking the Bordeaux-Bègles replacement, Jandré Marais, with his arm in contravention of Law 9.12. Law 9.12 Striking with the arm Under World Rugby’s Sanctions for Foul Play, Law 9.12 carries the following sanction entry points - Low End: 2 weeks; Mid-range: 6 weeks; Top end: 10 to 52 weeks.  An independent Disciplinary Committee consisting of Professor Lorne Crerar (Scotland), Chair, Jamie Corsi (Wales) and Jean-Noel Couraud (France), heard evidence and submissions by video conference from Bristow, who pleaded not guilty to the charge, from the Sale Sharks Director of Rugby, Steve Diamond, and from the EPCR Disciplinary Officer, Liam McTiernan. The Committee decided not to uphold the red card decision and Bristow is therefore free to play. EPCR have the right to appeal the decision. Adrea Cocagi suspended for nine weeks The Perpignan centre, Adrea Cocagi, has been suspended for nine weeks following an independent Disciplinary Hearing in Paris today (Wednesday, 19 December) arising from his club’s Challenge Cup, Round 4 match against Connacht Rugby at Stade Aimé Giral. Cocagi was sent off by referee, Ian Tempest (England), in the 58^th minute of the match for dangerously striking the Connacht wing, Matt Healy, with his shoulder in contravention of Law 9.12. Law 9.12 – Striking with the shoulder Under World Rugby’s Sanctions for Foul Play, Law 9.12 carries the following sanction entry points – Low end: 2 weeks; Mid-range: 6 weeks; Top end: 10 to 52 weeks An independent Disciplinary Committee consisting of Jeremy Summers (England), Chair, Rory Bannerman (Scotland) and Val Toma (Romania), heard evidence and submissions from Cocagi, who pleaded not guilty to the charge, from Perpignan’s legal representative, Pierre Becque, and from the EPCR Disciplinary Officer, Liam McTiernan. The Committee upheld the red card decision and as Cocagi had launched himself at speed at a prone opponent, it found that the act of foul play was at the top end of World Rugby’s sanctions and 10 weeks was selected as the appropriate entry point. There were no aggravating factors, however, as the player did not accept the red card decision and as he does not have a clear disciplinary record, the Committee found that the sanction could only be reduced by one week (10%) by way of mitigation before a nine-week suspension was imposed. As he has no matches scheduled for the weekends of 2 and 9 February 2019, Cocagi is free to play on Monday, 4 March 2019. Both he and EPCR have the right to appeal the decision. Lilian Saseras citing complaint dismissed The Grenoble replacement scrum half, Lilian Saseras, has had a citing complaint against him dismissed following an independent Disciplinary Hearing in Paris today (Wednesday, 19 December) arising from his club’s Challenge Cup, Round 4 match against Agen at Stade Armandie. Saseras was cited by the match Citing Commissioner, Alberto Recaldini (Italy), for allegedly committing a dangerous charge on the Agen centre, Timilai Rokoduru, in the 72^nd minute of the match in contravention of Law 9.16. Law 9.16 – Charging or knocking down an opponent without attempt to grasp the player Under World Rugby’s Sanctions for Foul Play, Law 9.16 carries the following sanction entry points – Low end: 2 weeks; Mid-range: 6 weeks; Top end: 10 to 52 weeks An independent Disciplinary Committee consisting of Jennifer Donovan (Ireland), Chair, Nigel Williams (Wales) and Anthony Wheat (England), heard evidence and submissions from Saseras, who did not accept the charge, and from the EPCR Disciplinary Officer, Liam McTiernan. The Committee found that there was insufficient evidence to decide whether an act of foul play that warranted a red card had taken place and the complaint was therefore dismissed. Saseras is free to play and EPCR have the right to appeal the decision. Teiva Jacquelain citing complaint dismissed The Grenoble wing, Teiva Jacquelain, has had a citing complaint against him dismissed following an independent Disciplinary Hearing in Paris today (Wednesday, 19 December) arising from his club’s Challenge Cup, Round 4 match against Agen at Stade Armandie. Jacquelain was cited by the match Citing Commissioner, Alberto Recaldini, for allegedly striking the Agen centre, Timilai Rokoduru, dangerously with his shoulder in the 72^nd minute of the match in contravention of Law 9.12. Law 9.12 – Striking with the shoulder Under World Rugby’s Sanctions for Foul Play, Law 9.12 carries the following sanction entry points – Low end: 2 weeks; Mid-range: 6 weeks; Top end: 10 to 52 weeks An independent Disciplinary Committee consisting of Jennifer Donovan (Ireland), Chair, Nigel Williams (Wales) and Anthony Wheat (England), heard evidence and submissions from Jacquelain, who did not accept the charge, and from the EPCR Disciplinary Officer, Liam McTiernan. The Committee found that there was insufficient evidence to decide whether an act of foul play that warranted a red card had taken place and the complaint was therefore dismissed. Jacquelain is free to play and EPCR have the right to appeal the decision. Notes (i) Red Cards a) The case of any player sent off in Heineken Champions Cup and 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 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 50 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 epcrugby.com/discipline/hearing-decisions when the disciplinary process is complete. i) For World Rugby's Sanctions for Foul Play, found at Appendix 1 to World Rugby Regulation 17, go to world.rugby