Fans are in shock after a Welsh rugby player was suspended for a “dangerous and reckless” tackle.
“Is that it?” questioned a fan. Tom Botha, an offensive player for the Ospreys, received a three-week suspension for what was deemed to be a “dangerous and reckless” tackle during his team’s Challenge Cup loss to Gloucester.
After the quarterfinal match at Kingsholm, the 33-year-old received a citation for tackling Gloucester center Seb Atkinson in a “dangerous manner” in the 12th minute. Throughout the game, the referee made no decisions.
On Wednesday, Botha showed up for a disclipinary hearing and acknowledged that he had engaged in foul play. He did not, however, agree that the tackle called for a red card. However, the disciplinary panel disapproved, maintaining the citing complaint after finding that the Welsh-qualified prop had tackled Atkinson in a “dangerous and reckless” manner, which was indeed grounds for a dismissal.
The panel decided that the offending was at the mid-range of World Rugby’s sanctions, with six weeks selected as the appropriate endtry point. However, taking into account Botha’s admission of foul play and his clear disciplinary record, the suspension was halved to three weeks.
Botha’s suspension runs until Monday, May 13 but if he applies for and successfully completes a World Rugby Coaching Intervention, he will be free to face Leinster on May 11.
The decision to ban the South African prop has been met with bewilderment from Ospreys fans, who cannot believe that the tackle has been punished to such an extent. A clip of the incident has been posted on social media, with many viewers having to watch it several times to understand what he had actually done.
“Is that it?” wrote one fan, who added: “I’m struggling to see the offence in that clip, nobody seemed to complain to the ref about it at the time”. When the panel’s decision was announced, the same supporter added: “That is absolutely mental”.
Remarking on the tackle that led to the “bonkers” suspension, another added: “This is literally a nothing offence,” while a third pointed to the fact there was a late change in direction from Atkinson, with another tackler – Adam Beard – involved.
“Cited for that?!,” asked another, while one fan was unimpressed on viewing the incident, writing: “I was expecting him to have taken someone’s head off”.
An EPCR statement read: “The Ospreys prop, Tom Botha, has been suspended for three weeks following an independent Disciplinary Hearing arising from his club’s EPCR Challenge Cup quarter-final match against Gloucester Rugby at Kingsholm. Botha was cited by the match Citing Commissioner, Mihai Irimia (Romania), for tackling the Gloucester Rugby centre, Seb Atkinson, in a dangerous manner in the 12th minute of the match in contravention of Law 9.13 (A player must not tackle an opponent early, late or dangerously.)
Under World Rugby’s Sanctions for Foul Play, Law 9.13 carries the following sanction entry points – Low End: 2 weeks; Mid-range: 6 weeks; Top end: 10 to 52 weeks. An independent Disciplinary Committee comprising Jennifer Donovan (Ireland), Chair, Donal Courtney (Ireland), and Martyn Wood (England) studied video imagery of the incident and heard evidence and submissions from Botha, who admitted that he had committed an act of foul play but who did not accept that it warranted a red card, from the Ospreys Team Manager, Dai Davies, and from the EPCR Disciplinary Officer, Liam McTiernan.”
It continued: “The committee determined that Botha had tackled Atkinson in a dangerous and reckless manner that warranted a red card, and therefore, the citing complaint was upheld. It was decided that the offending was at the mid-range of World Rugby’s sanctions and six weeks was selected as the appropriate entry point. Taking into account the player’s admission of foul play and his clear disciplinary record, the committee reduced the sanction by the maximum of 50% before imposing a three-week suspension.
“Botha is free to play on Monday, 13 May, however, if he applies for and successfully completes a World Rugby Coaching Intervention, he will be free to play on Monday, 29 April. Both the player and EPCR have the right to appeal the decision.”
