Dan Evans suspended for four weeks

The Ospreys full back, Dan Evans, has been suspended for four weeks following an independent Disciplinary Hearing in London today (Wednesday, 11 December) arising from his club’s Heineken Champions Cup, Round 3 match against Racing 92 at the Liberty Stadium.

Evans was sent off by the referee, Frank Murphy (Ireland), in the first minute of the match for striking the Racing 92 wing, Teddy Thomas (No 14), with his boot in contravention of Law 9.12.

Law 9.12 Kicking
Under World Rugby’s Sanctions for Foul Play, Law 9.12 relating to kicking carries the following sanction entry points - Low End: 4 weeks; Mid-range: 8 weeks; Top end: 12 to 52 weeks.

An independent Disciplinary Committee consisting of Dan White (England), Chair, Gordon Black (Ireland) and Marcello d’Orey (Portugal) considered imagery of the incident, and heard evidence and submissions by video conference from Evans, who accepted the red card decision, from the Ospreys Team Manager, Dai Davies, and from the ECPR Disciplinary Officer, Liam McTiernan.

The Committee upheld the red card decision finding that the act of foul play was reckless. As contact to the head or neck carries a minimum mandatory mid-range sanction, according to World Rugby’s regulations, eight weeks was selected as the appropriate entry point.

There were no aggravating factors, and taking into account the player’s guilty plea and timely expression of remorse, the Committee reduced the sanction by the maximum of 50% before imposing a four-week suspension.

Evans is free to play on Monday, 6 January 2020, and both he and EPCR have the right to appeal the decision.

Arno Botha suspended for three weeks

The Munster Rugby back row, Arno Botha, has been suspended for three weeks following an independent Disciplinary Hearing in London today (Wednesday, 11 December) arising from his club’s Heineken Champions Cup, Round 3 match against Saracens at Thomond Park.

Botha was sent off by the referee, Romain Poite (France), in the 81st minute of the match for striking the Saracens replacement, Nick Tompkins (No 23), 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 relating to striking with the arm 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 Dan White (England), Chair, Frank Hadden (Scotland) and Marcello d’Orey (Portugal) considered imagery of the incident, and heard evidence and submissions by video conference from Botha, who accepted the red card decision, from Munster Rugby’s legal representative, Pat Barriscale, from the Munster Rugby Team Manager, Niall O’Donovan, and from the EPCR Disciplinary Officer, Liam McTiernan.

The Committee upheld the red card decision finding that the act of foul play was reckless. As contact to the head or neck carries a minimum mandatory mid-range sanction, according to World Rugby’s regulations, six weeks was selected as the appropriate entry point.

There were no aggravating factors, and taking into account the player’s guilty plea and timely expression of remorse, the Committee reduced the sanction by the maximum of 50% before imposing a three-week suspension.

Botha is free to play on Monday, 30 December 2019, and both he and EPCR have the right to appeal the decision.

CHALLENGE CUP

Taine Basham suspended for one week

The Dragons No 8, Taine Basham, has been suspended for one week following an independent Disciplinary Hearing in London today (Wednesday, 11 December) arising from his club’s Challenge Cup, Round 3 match against Worcester Warriors at Sixways.

Basham was sent off by the referee, Marius Mitrea (Italy), in the 19th minute of the match for tackling the Worcester Warriors replacement, Gareth Simpson (No 22), dangerously in contravention of Law 9.13.

Law 9.13 Dangerous tackling
Under World Rugby’s Sanctions for Foul Play, Law 9.13 relating to dangerous tackling 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, Frank Hadden (Scotland) and Gordon Black (Ireland) considered video imagery of the incident, and heard evidence and submissions from the player, from the Dragons Director of Rugby, Dean Ryan, and from the EPCR Disciplinary Officer, Liam McTiernan.

The Committee upheld the red card decision finding that the player had committed an act of foul play. It was decided that offence was at the low end of World Rugby’s sanctions and two weeks was selected as the appropriate entry point.

There were no aggravating factors, and taking into account the player’s clear disciplinary record, his youth and inexperience and his expression of remorse, the Committee reduced the sanction by the maximum of 50% before imposing a one-week suspension.

Basham is free to play on Monday, 16 December 2019, and both he 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, Challenge Cup and Continental Shield 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

HEINEKEN CHAMPIONS CUP