A five year ban in rugby. Thugs beware!!!

[smartcooky]

From The Telegraph....


Thugs beware. Methinks the judiciary means to stamp out dangerous contact to the face and eyes; and about time too

Whitehaven flanker Callum Jennings banned for five years!!

A five-year ban handed down to Whitehaven flanker Callum Jennings, for an incident which left an opponent blinded in one eye, has left his defence team stunned by the severity of the judgment.

The sentence, which came after an appeal was lodged against a 78-week suspension initially dispensed in March, is one of the stiffest ever imposed and reflects the Rugby Football Union's determination to act tough in such cases.

"Callum is devastated by the decision to ban him from the game he loves and for what [he considers] was a legitimate attempt at a hand-off," said Jennings's barrister, Julian Gill. "He will always maintain that this was a freak accident."

During the appeal process, an RFU disciplinary panel heard expert opinion and decided that the charge should be changed from one of 'reckless' play in making contact with the eye area of Aspatria second XV lock Alan Hedworth, to one of 'striking' the player. The panel determined that there had been "an intentional act of foul play" on the amended charge.

Last summer, international players Schalk Burger, of South Africa, and Italy's Sergio Parisse escaped with eight-week bans after being found guilty of gouging opponents in Test matches against the Lions and New Zealand, respectively.

The International Rugby Board was alarmed by such leniency in sentencing and took a public stance in favour of stiffer penalties. The crackdown resulted in a 70-week ban for Stade Français prop David Attoub and one of 24 weeks (reduced by one week on appeal) to his club colleague, scrum-half Julien Dupuy, for incidents in a Heineken Cup game against Ulster.

Jennings's case is different and has exercised minds both at clubs and in legal circles. In essence, the disciplinary panel had to determine whether a hand-off administered by Jennings in the act of being tackled by Hedworth last October had been overly-aggressive. There is no precise definition of a hand-off in the laws of the game and opinion was sought from the RFU's chief disciplinary officer, Judge Jeff Blackett. That opinion outlined such issues as to whether excessive force might be used in a hand-off and if so might constitute foul play under regulation 10.4 (a).

The maximum recommended sanction for striking is 52 weeks, but in cases of exceptional consequences a panel has the right to impose any sanction it deems appropriate, including a life ban.

 

[ORothlain]

Yeah, stick it too the lower level lads, but God Forbid we even mention the few incidents at pro and international level we've had.
If we don't see a similar ban handed down next time a pro does it, then it's complete injustice for the guy mentioned in the story.

 

[nickdnz]

Well, any intentional eye gouging should be met with a life ban in my opinion. The fact that the other player lost his sight in one eye, from a hand off that seemed to intentionally harm the other players eye deserves a life ban. However the fact that the other player lost an eye is coincidental, and any time a player eye gouges, at any level, it needs to be treated that the intention was to blind the other player, successful or other wise.

 

[SelimNiai]

The IRB has set this benchmark....only to completely ignore it when an International player gouges or stamps.

 

[DuncTheDoodle]

This guy has a clean disiplinary record as well. Pros such as Bakkies Botha have attempted things with dozens of bans under their belts and got 9 or 10 weeks, tops. I agree with the previous posters- This needs to be stamped out at all levels.

 

[hughorton]

Any eye gouging should result in a life time ban end of. If that were the case then I bet that cases of eye gouging would fall significantly.

 

[Shaggy]

I agree, foul play that could result in permanent damage to opposing players, such as eye gouging, kicks to the head etc, should result in punishments such as the one above at all levels of the game