Nika Amashukeli shows Owen Farrell a yellow card, which was later upgraded to red after TMO check, then downgraded to yellow, then promoted back to response to the appeal. Credit: Getty Images/David Rogers
Introducing a new disciplinary system on the eve of the Rugby World Cup comes with a degree of risk, so you can imagine the collective breath taken at World Rugby Headquarters in Dublin when Nika Amashukeli received a yellow card the day before. card to Owen Farrell for a dangerous tackle against Wales. informing the England captain that the case would be handled by the «bunker».
Tuesday's announcement that Farrell had indeed committed a red-carded offense cleared the entire bunker system — officially called the Official Foul Inspection Authority — a week after it was hung out to dry by an independent disciplinary panel. the decision to downgrade Farrell's attack status from red to yellow based on mitigation.
If the opposite verdict had been delivered after the two panels had considered the case, with both the initial and subsequent panel hearing the case disagreeing with the decision of the Twickenham bunker, then its legitimacy in the northern hemisphere would have been destroyed on the first try. Not forgetting also that World Rugby just confirmed on Monday that the bunker will be used during the Rugby World Cup, praising its impact.
“Supporting the bunkering process helps match officials at key moments and helps keep the pace in matches,” said Julie Paterson, director of rugby at Six Nations Rugby. “Throughout the game, player well-being is a priority, and with that comes the need for innovation and new processes, and the bunker is one example of that.”
Billy Wunipole's red card in Dublin certainly helped the cause, with his yellow card changed to a red after referee Paul Williams instructed the bunker to decide if England No. 8 Andrew Porter's dangerous tackle justified a more serious infraction. At that point, there was a sense that it should have been removed, which raised an interesting question: will the judges now always be put off in the bunker for fear of making the wrong key decision, or will they still be sure that they will issue a direct red warning? map on the field.
Ideally, the bunker will speed up cases like the Farrell investigation, rather than lead to the protracted process that we've seen over the past two weeks. The appointment of an all-Australian disciplinary panel for Farrell's first hearing naturally shed light on how certain offenses are treated differently in Super Rugby Pacific than they are in the Gallagher Premier League and the Six Nations, and it would be a surprise if we saw that the panels all from the same country again in the near future. Vunipola's disciplinary hearing, in particular, was attended by two Scots and a Welshman (which is not the intentional start of a bad joke), while Farrell's appeal hearing was supervised by representatives from New Zealand, Singapore and Ireland.
If the bunker can prevent a wrong red card in the final, that's positive.
If you find the Farrell case exceptionally confusing and wonder how the fans, not to mention the new fans that the sport will hopefully attract in the next two months at the Rugby World Cup in France, you should be aware of the nuances of the disciplinary process or be able to confidently observe a dangerous tackle on the field and determine that «it's a red card», then you are absolutely not alone.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, the current test judge told Telegraph Sport last week about Farrell's tackle: «It's a really tough question, obviously there's been a lot of discussion around it. I think from the point of view of the referee, we all would have been given a red card. What happens next in the lawsuit is obviously up to them. I don't think the judges' opinion will change in the future if we have exactly the same tackle.»
The vastly different interpretations of Farrell's tackle by the disciplinary panel and the appeals committee, with the latter rather condemningly noting that the former «should have considered a player's attempt to tackle his opponent in a tackle», given that Farrell's failure to do so meant the challenge «was always illegal», showed that even those with extensive experience in these matters can make mistakes.
But by confirming that Farrell should have been sent off and deciding to suspend him, World Rugby is not only supporting their innovative tool to help make those decisions clearer, but also supporting Amashukeli and his officials. And in an age where judges are regularly torn to shreds on social media — and sometimes coaches — that seems important.
Yes, the referees need to feel confident enough in their decisions to be able to issue a red card for an obvious violation of the rules. But if a bunker can prevent a player from being erroneously ejected, such as in a Rugby World Cup final, that seems like a positive thing.
Owen Farrell (again) banned further travel.
Свежие комментарии