Pierre Bourgarit suspended for six weeks

The La Rochelle hooker, Pierre Bourgarit, has been suspended for six weeks following an independent Disciplinary Hearing at the London offices of Bird & Bird LLP today (Wednesday, 27 November) arising from his club’s Heineken Champions Cup, Round 2 match against Sale Sharks at the AJ Bell Stadium.

Bourgarit was sent off by the referee, Andrew Brace (Ireland), in the 38^th minute of the match for making contact with the eye area of the Sale Sharks flanker, Tom Curry (No 6), in contravention of Law 9.12.

Law 9.12 Contact with the eye area
Under World Rugby’s Sanctions for Foul Play, Law 9.12 relating to contact with the 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 consisting of David Martin (Ireland), Chair, John Doubleday (England) and Val Toma (Romania), heard submissions and evidence from Bourgarit, who accepted the red card decision, from La Rochelle’s Legal Representative, Christian Chevalier, from the La Rochelle Rugby Administrator, Robert Mohr, and from the EPCR Disciplinary Officer, Liam McTiernan.

The Committee upheld the red card decision finding that the act of foul play was deliberate and repeated with sustained pressure to Curry’s eye area.

It was decided that the offence was at the top end of World Rugby’s sanctions for contact with the eye area, however, it was also decided that there was no reason to consider a sanction greater than the minimum entry point of 12 weeks.

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

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

Jacques du Plessis suspended for five weeks

The Montpellier second row, Jacques du Plessis, has been suspended for five weeks following an independent Disciplinary Hearing today (Wednesday, 27 November) arising from his club’s Heineken Champions Cup, Round 2 match against Gloucester Rugby at the GGL Stadium.

Du Plessis was sent off by the referee, George Clancy (Ireland), in the 56^th minute of the match for striking the Gloucester second row, Gerbrandt Grobler (No 5), with his arm in contravention of Law 9.12.

Law 9.12 Strking 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 Antony Davies (England), Chair, David Martin (Ireland) and John Doubleday (England), heard submissions and evidence by video conference from Du Plessis, who accepted the red card decision, from the Montpellier Team Manager, Tom Whitford, and from the EPCR Disciplinary Officer, Liam McTiernan.

The Committee upheld the red card decision finding that Du Plessis had struck Grobler to the head with his arm in a reckless manner. As contact to the head carries a minimum mandatory mid-range sanction, according to World Rugby’s regulations, six weeks was selected as the appropriate entry point.

Due to the player’s prior disciplinary record, the Committee added one week to the sanction, but it also took into consideration his guilty plea and timely expression of remorse and then reduced the sanction by two weeks before imposing a five-week suspension.

Du Plessis is free to play on Monday, 30 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