HEINEKEN CHAMPIONS CUP Tudor Stroe suspended for three weeks The Castres Olympique replacement prop, Tudor Stroe, has been suspended for three weeks following an independent Disciplinary Hearing in Paris today (Wednesday, 16 January) arising from his club’s Heineken Champions Cup, Round 5 match against Exeter Chiefs at Sandy Park. Stroe was sent off by the referee, George Clancy (Ireland), in the 59^th minute of the match for striking the Exeter Chiefs centre, Ollie Devoto, 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 Gareth Graham (England), Chair, Leon Lloyd (England) and Frank Hadden (Scotland), heard evidence and submissions from Stroe, who accepted the red card decision, from the Castres Olympique Managing Director, Matthias Rolland, and from the EPCR Disciplinary Officer, Liam McTiernan. The Committee upheld the red card decision and found that the act of foul play was at the mid-range of World Rugby’s sanctions and selected six weeks as the appropriate entry point. As there were no aggravating factors, and due to Stroe’s guilty plea and early expression of remorse, the Committee reduced the sanction by the maximum amount of 50% before imposing a suspension of three weeks. Stroe is free to play on Monday, 18 February 2019 and both he and EPCR have the right to appeal the decision. CHALLENGE CUP Nicolas Lemaire suspended for seven weeks The Perpignan replacement prop, Nicolas Lemaire, has been suspended for seven weeks following an independent Disciplinary Hearing in Paris today (Wednesday, 16 January) rising from his club's Challenge Cup, Round 5 match against Bordeaux-Bègles at Stade Aimé Giral. Lemaire was cited by the match Citing Commissioner, Wayne Sheridan (Ireland), for tackling the Bordeaux-Bègles wing, Nicolas Plazy, in a dangerous lifting manner in the 62^nd minute of the match in contravention of Law 9.18. The player was shown a yellow card by the referee, Karl Dickson (England), following the incident. Law 9.18 A player must not lift an opponent off the ground and drop or drive that player so that their head and/or upper body make contact with the ground Under World Rugby’s Sanctions for Foul Play, Law 9.18 carries the following sanction entry points - Low End: 6 weeks; Mid-range: 10 weeks; Top end: 14 to 52 weeks. An independent Disciplinary Committee consisting of Gareth Graham (England), Chair, Leon Lloyd (England) and Frank Hadden (Scotland), heard evidence and submissions from Lemaire, who accepted the charge of foul play, from the Perpignan legal representative, Pierre Becque, and from the EPCR Disciplinary Officer, Liam McTiernan. The Committee upheld the complaint as Lemaire’s tackle warranted a red card and found that the act of foul play was at the mid-range of World Rugby’s sanctions and selected 10 weeks as the appropriate entry point. Taking into consideration the player’s poor disciplinary record, the Committee decided to reduce the sanction by only three weeks before imposing a seven-week suspension. Lemaire is free to play on Monday, 25 March 2019 and both he and EPCR have the right to appeal the decision. CONTINENTAL SHIELD Umberto Casellato suspended for eight weeks The Femi-CZ Rugby Rovigo coach, Umberto Casellato, has been suspended for eight weeks following an independent Disciplinary Hearing in Paris today (Wednesday, 16 January) arising from his club’s Continental Shield, Round 5 match against Argos Rugby Petrarca at the Argos Arena. Casellato was shown a red card and ordered to leave the playing area by the referee, Shota Tevzadze (Georgia), for verbally abusing the Argos Rugby Petrarca scrum half, Jeremy Su’a, during the second half of the match in contravention of Law 9.12. Law 9.12 Verbal abuse Under World Rugby’s Sanctions, Law 9.12 relating to verbal abuse carries the following sanction entry points - Low End: 6 weeks; Mid-range: 12 weeks; Top end: 18 to 52 weeks. An independent Disciplinary Committee consisting of Jean-Noel Couraud (France), Chair, Frank Hadden (Scotland) and Achille Reali (Italy) heard evidence and submissions from Casellato, from the Femi-CZ Rugby Rovigo representative, Joe van Niekerk, from the club’s legal representatives, Lanfranco Massimi and Federico Cogo, as well as from the EPCR Disciplinary Officer, Liam McTiernan. In evidence, Casellato accepted that he had verbally abused the Argos Rugby Petrarca player, but denied that the abuse was racist. The Committee upheld the red card decision and determined that the abuse had been racist. It found that the offence was at the mid-range of World Rugby’s sanctions and selected 12 weeks as the appropriate entry point. There were no aggravating factors and taking into consideration Casellato’s qualified guilty plea and his good disciplinary record, the Committee reduced the sanction by four weeks before imposing a match-day stadium ban of eight weeks. Casellato is free to resume his match-day duties on Monday, 18 March 2019, and both he and EPCR have the right to appeal the decision. Romulo Acosta suspended for eight weeks The Argos Rugby Petrarca prop, Romulo Acosta, has been suspended for eight weeks following an independent Disciplinary Hearing today (Wednesday, 16 January) arising from his club’s Continental Shield, Round 5 match against Femi-CZ Rugby Rovigo at the Argos Arena. Acosta was cited by the match Citing Commissioner, Gabriele Pezzano (Italy), for allegedly spitting at the Femi-CZ Rugby Rovigo wing, Massimo Cioffi, at the conclusion of the match in contravention of Law 9.27. Law 9.27 Spitting Under World Rugby’s Sanctions, Law 9.27 relating to spitting 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 Jean-Noel Couraud, Chair, Achille Reali (Italy) and Julien Berenger (France), heard evidence and submissions by video conference from Acosta, who pleaded not guilty to the charge, from the Argos Rugby Petrarca representative, Silvia Cameran, and from the EPCR Disciplinary Officer, Liam McTiernan. The Committee upheld the citing complaint in that it warranted a red card and determined that Acosta had spat at the Femi-CZ Rugby Rovigo player. It found that the offence was at the mid-range of World Rugby’s sanctions and selected eight weeks as the appropriate entry point. One week was added due to Acosta’s poor disciplinary record, and in mitigation, the Committee then reduced the sanction by one week in recognition of the player’s coaching work with his club’s underage teams before imposing a suspension of eight weeks. Acosta is free to play on Monday, 25 March 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