The citing complaint against the VEA Femi-CZ Rovigo second row, Jean Francois Montauriol (No 5), arising from the Amlin Challenge Cup, Pool 2, Round 6 match against Perpignan on Thursday, 17 January 2013, was not upheld at an independent Disciplinary Hearing in Dublin.

Jean Francois Montauriol

Video of incident

Law 10.4(b) reads: Stamping or Trampling. A player must not stamp or trample on an opponent

Under the IRB Sanctions for Foul Play, Law 10.4(b) carries the following sanction entry points: Low End - 2 weeks; Mid Range - 5 weeks; Top End - 9+ to 52 weeks

The independent Judicial Officer, Mark McParland (Ireland), heard evidence and submissions from Montauriol, who pleaded not guilty, from the VEA Femi-CZ Rovigo Head Coach, Paul Roux, and from the club’s legal representative, Federico Cogo. The Judicial Officer also heard submissions from ERC Disciplinary Officer, Roger O’Connor.

The Judicial Officer determined that Montauriol had made inadvertent contact with Vilaceca and that the alleged stamp was an accidental act. He therefore dismissed the citing complaint and Montauriol is free to play.

ERC have the right to appeal the decision.

Phelipponneau suspended for four weeks

Video of incident

The Mont-de-Marsan prop, Morgan Phelipponneau (No 17), has been suspended for four (4) weeks following an independent Disciplinary Hearing today (Friday, 25 January) arising from the Amlin Challenge Cup Pool 1, Round 6 match against Gloucester Rugby on Saturday, 19 January 2013.

Phelipponneau was alleged to have to punched the Gloucester Rugby player, Shaun Knight (No 3), twice during the first half of the match at Kingsholm in contravention of Law 10.4(a) of the IRB’s Laws of the Game.

As Citing Commissioners are not always appointed for Amlin Challenge Cup matches which are not broadcast live on television, Tournament Rules allow either club to submit citings for consideration by an independent Citing Officer.
In this case, the appointed Citing Officer, Gordon Black (Ireland), considered that there were grounds to conduct a Disciplinary Hearing following a citing complaint for punching against Phelipponneau by Gloucester Rugby.

Law 10.4(a) – Striking or Punching: A player must not strike an opponent with a fist or arm including the elbow, shoulder, head or knees

Under the IRB Sanctions for Foul Play, Law 10.4(a) striking a player the hand, arm or fist carries the following sanction entry points: Low End - 2 weeks; Mid Range - 5 weeks; Top End - 8+ to 52 weeks.

The independent Judicial Officer, Mark McParland (Ireland), heard evidence and submissions by video conference from Phelipponneau, who pleaded not guilty, from Mont-de-Marsan official, Jerome Dhien, and from the club’s legal representative, John O’Donnell SC. The Judicial Officer also heard submissions from ERC Disciplinary Officer, Roger O’Connor.

The Judicial Officer upheld the citing complaint and determined that Phelipponneau had struck Knight with two punches to the head. He found that the offence was in the mid range (5 weeks) of the IRB’s sanctioning regime and as there were no aggravating factors, he took into account the player’s age (23), inexperience and remorse, as well as his good conduct during the hearing before imposing a sentence of four (4) weeks.

Phelipponneau will be free to play on Monday, 18 February 2013. Both the player and ERC have the right to appeal the decision.

Notes

(i) Citing Commissioner
a) Citing Commissioners are appointed by ERC for all Heineken Cup and all televised Amlin 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 ERC Disciplinary Officer, Roger O'Connor, 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.

(ii) Disciplinary Hearing
a) The independent Judicial Officer is chosen by the chairman of the independent Disciplinary Panel, Professor Lorne Crerar.
b) ERC’s Disciplinary Officer, Roger O'Connor, presents the case against the player.
c) If a citing complaint is upheld, the independent Judicial Officer will be required to consider the appropriate sanction. Under the IRB's sanctioning regime, which ERC is obliged to follow, the Judicial Officer will first assess the seriousness of the player's actions and determine which of the three stipulated entry points (lower end, mid range and top end) is the most appropriate.
d) The Judicial Officer will determine the appropriate entry point based on his/her 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 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.
d) A suspension is a blanket ban from playing rugby union anywhere in the world.
e) Both parties to the hearing (ERC and the player) have the right to appeal decisions of the independent Disciplinary Hearing. Appeals must be lodged within three (3) working days of receiving the full written decision of the Judicial Officer.
f) The full written decision of the Judicial Officer will be available on www.ercrugby.com/disciplinenews when the disciplinary process is complete
g) For IRB Sanctions for Foul Play, found at Appendix 1 to IRB Regulation 17, please click here