We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. The players’ actions, as set out above, quite clearly breached the National Lockdown rules, and the MOS. Fans and commentators have been outraged by the…, On 8 December 2020, an independent RFU disciplinary panel (the “Panel”) chaired by Phillip Evans QC handed down its decision…, Today is the first day of On the Ball: The Rugby Union Conference! DISCIPLINARY JUDGMENTS Here you will find listed all of the judgments from RFU disciplinary hearings around the country. Given that those players not only went out in public, in a large group, but also lied to the RFU during the investigation, the sanctions imposed here do seem harsh. He was given a one-week suspension by the club, fined two weeks’ wages and ordered to undertake 10 hours of community service. Upon discovering the breaches, each club held their own disciplinary process.[3]. The police attended and Stooke was found to have been over the alcohol driving limit. [3] See paragraphs 78 to 81 of the Decision. The Premiership consists of twelve clubs, and is the top division of the English rugby union system. This was for failing to respect the authority of the match official, contrary to World Rugby Law 9.28. window.scriptsToInit.push('BrightCoveEmbeddedScrollVideo.init("6234430797001");'); Sign up to our mailing list for a weekly digest from the wide world of rugby. Oghre was in Bath visiting (or staying with, it was not clear) his mother and that he went to Joseph’s house in the late afternoon. [9], The key parts of the Framework ask whether the conduct was intentional, reckless or careless,[10] and whether the consequences of the breach were low, medium or high.[11]. Breaches of discipline in Premiership matches and in the Anglo Welsh competition will be dealt with by the RFU disciplinary process. Article by Ben Cisneros. This meant that they were unable to play the following weekend – though they had already been suspended by their clubs such that they would not have played in any event. Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. These new regulations will then be presented to Premiership Rugby Board for approval. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. To date, Premiership Rugby have not made the official report public However Saracens have now insisted they are happy for it to be published Premiership Rugby have confirmed they will publish their disciplinary report into Saracens’ salary cap breaches after … Rugby Union news from Sky Sports. Though the RFU had supported the player’s approach, the Disciplinary Panel considered that this unredacted information was necessary for a proper hearing to be held and thus adjourned the hearing, to allow the parties to further prepare.[6]. Leicester's Jasper Wiese has been banned for four weeks and teammate Hanro Liebenberg for two weeks following an online disciplinary hearing. Millions of lives have been affected. “Full judgments, including explanation for sanction lengths (e.g. The incident will inevitably cause some reputational damage to the game, but this does not appear significant. In other words, the decision on sanction was not unreasonable. In what is now rugby’s second COVID-19 disciplinary case (see previously the Barbarians case ), the RFU charged the players under RFU Rule … Joseph, of Bath Rugby, was banned for two weeks, while Stooke and Oghre, of Bath Rugby and Wasps respectively, were banned for three weeks. Joseph, Stooke and Oghre had all recently tested negative for COVID-19[31] and gathered only in a small group. [26] In Joseph’s case, there was a “glowing testimonial” from Bath coach Neil Hatley, while all players offered sincere apologies. When assessing the consequences, the Framework lists factors such as the harm caused to any individual, the impact on the competition or any clubs, and the “reputational damage to the game”. However, this may not be the end of the story. [21] It thus seems that the Disciplinary Panel was keen to remind the players of the privileged position that they enjoy. This website uses cookies to improve your experience. Stooke dropped Oghre in the centre of Bath, after travelling for about 3 miles, before subsequently becoming involved in a minor road traffic accident. As regards mitigating factors, the Disciplinary Panel accepted that Jonathan Joseph had been deeply disappointed by his exclusion from the England Six Nations squad but found the submission that he was “depressed” and that his mental wellbeing was affected to be “unsupported by any evidence”. Such appeals can only be brought on narrow grounds,[29] and here the players relied upon the sole ground that the sanctions imposed were so excessive as to be unreasonable, pursuant to Regulation 19.12.1(d). He … The Disciplinary Panel was also influenced by the fact that these events had taken place during a National Lockdown, describing this element of the context as a “highly important one”. Get the latest results, fixtures and live scores, plus coverage of Six Nations, Gallagher Premiership, World Cups & much more The extent to which players and staff adhere to guidelines and standards both inside and outside of the training environment has a direct impact on the risk of COVID-19 transmission to themselves and the close contacts around them.” (Emphasis added). Premiership clubs qualify for Europe's two main club competitions, the European Rugby Champions Cup and the European Rugby Challenge Cup. [30] See paragraphs 20 to 25 of the Appeal Decision. The Disciplinary Panel noted that although Stooke and Oghre could have been charged also for simply leaving their homes to attend the gathering, this was merely a matter for the RFU. Wasps held a hearing for Oghre’s case on 29 January, where the player accepted that he had broken the governmental lockdown rules. entry points and any mitigation), for each of the hearings are available as follows: Rapava-Ruskin here, Williams here and Bedlow here.”. See also paragraph 23. This is supported by the latest guidance from Government, Public Health England, the World Health Organisation and World Rugby. The National Health Service is under immense pressure. The hearing before an independent RFU Disciplinary Panel thus dealt only with the issue of sanction. However, the Professional Game Board has created a Return to Play Disciplinary Framework (the “Framework”) to deal with breaches of the MOS. Lockdown Disciplinary Sanctions: Joseph, Stooke & Oghre. The Chiefs and Crusaders have forged a fierce rivalry in the past decade with a new chapter set for Saturday. Disciplinary panels inevitably (and necessarily) have a degree of discretion in determining cases such as these, so while this author might have given less weight to the circumstances of the National Lockdown, and more weight to the minor impact of the players’ actions, that the Disciplinary Panel took the opposite approach does not necessarily make the Decision unreasonable. Premiership Rugby | Disciplinary hearing Tom Youngs Disciplinary hearing Tom Youngs Tom Youngs of Leicester Tigers appeared before an independent disciplinary panel this evening. The European champions were initially docked 35 points and fined £5.36 million by the Premiership in November for breaching the salary cap over … The Disciplinary Panel did take into account the players’ swift acknowledgments of guilt, excellent character and genuine remorse. RFU Disciplinary: Geordan Murphy Charges against Leicester Tigers head coach Geordan Murphy were dealt with by an Independent Disciplinary Panel today. The Framework (which has been published since the Barbarians case) also sets out the entry points for sanctioning,[13] and the usual approach of applying aggravating or mitigating factors to increase or reduce the sanction (see Regulation 19.11.10) is then applied. Reasonable people can reasonably disagree on the outcome of a case. Two red card shown as Bath edge past Gloucester, Goal line drop outs, Hurricanes halfbacks and who can knock off the Crusaders? The Crusaders have surprised the rugby world by making perhaps their highest profile signing ever. Though the MOS have not be made publicly available, the relevant section was cited in the Decision.[2]. | Aotearoa Rugby Pod | S2E1, Nigel Owens says 'something needs to change' after wave of red cards in Premiership, striking Josh Bayliss of Bath with the arm/elbow, dangerous tackle on Gloucester’s Kyle Moyle. Any players, staff or clubs in the Gallagher Premiership who persistently breach minimum operating standards for coronavirus guidelines will face disciplinary action, the … [22], Given that all breaches were intentional, and the consequences “medium”, the entry point for the sanctions, directed by the Framework, was a four-week ban. The Disciplinary Panel noted that the RFU will “review matters further” upon the conclusion of the criminal proceedings against Elliott Stooke. Notably, RFU Regulation 19.4.4 explicitly gives the RFU to sanction players who have been “cautioned or convicted of a criminal offence which directly or indirectly relates to the playing, administration or image of the Game”. The winner of the RFU Championship is promoted to the Premiership. These sanctions were imposed in addition to sanctions imposed by the players’ clubs. At approximately 3am on 24 January, Stooke and Oghre left Joseph’s home in Stooke’s car. Consequently, an Interim Suspension Order[7] was imposed on Joseph and Stooke until the date of the adjourned hearing (6 days later). In the alternative, the players argued that the Disciplinary Panel was wrong not to suspend all or part of the sanctions imposed. He was cited by independent citing commissioner Jay Curts for kicking contrary to World Rugby Law 9.12. — Planet Rugby (@PlanetRugby) January 8, 2021 “This week the RFU has begun providing each Premiership Rugby club with a post-match video summary highlighting where match behaviours need to be improved to meet minimum operating standards. [12] Relevant factors in Regulation 19.11.8 include whether the offending was intentional or reckless, the gravity of the player’s actions, and the level of participation and premeditation. Stooke and Oghre further argued that although it was proper to charge them separately in respect of the car journey, it was inappropriate to impose consecutive sanctions because the offences arose from the same facts. In light of these considerations, the entry point for the sanction was reduced by 50% (in accordance with Regulation 19), meaning that a two-week suspension was appropriate. [8], The starting point is Rule 5.12, but this simply provides that a panel may impose “any…appropriate punishment”. The idea that the risk of transmission was heightened by a 3-mile car journey (likely less than 10 minutes in duration), after the two players had already spent several hours socialising, eating and drinking together seems somewhat artificial. Ben is a Trainee Solicitor at Morgan Sports Law. In this author’s view, it was always likely to have authoritative effect, so it is no surprise that the Disciplinary Panel here cited the Barbarians judgment significantly. All of the players appealed against the Decision. Saracens "continuously and recklessly failed to comply with its obligations to co-operate" with salary cap rules, a report has said. However, the implication that this cannot have been the case because he was playing on his PlayStation with Stooke is spurious. Bath held their disciplinary hearings on 2 February, where Joseph and Stooke were both suspended for one week and were fined two weeks’ wages. Watch this space. The Appeal Panel highlighted that the Barbarians case was “fact specific” and held that the Disciplinary Panel was entitled to conclude that offending during a National Lockdown was “significantly more serious than a breach of the ‘Rule of 6’”.[32]. Premiership Rugby (officially known as Gallagher Premiership Rugby, or the Gallagher Premiership for sponsorship reasons) is an English professional rugby union competition. The sanctions imposed here will send a reminder to players across the Premiership that breaches of the COVID-19 rules will not be tolerated, while the decisions serve as a useful reminder of the importance of the principles of totality and proportionality when determining disciplinary sanctions. To enable professional rugby to return, as required by Government, Premiership Rugby, together with the RFU and the RPA developed Minimum Operating Standards (the “MOS”). The players, and indeed the RFU, submitted that the consequences were “low”. [14] However, the Disciplinary Panel rejected that submission and held that the consequences were “at least medium”. He is free to play again on March 16. The Decision also distinguished the Barbarians case, highlighting that the country was only subject to the “Rule of Six” at that time, compared to full National Lockdown currently in force, due to the heightened transmission rate. Businesses have been ruined. In this author’s view, the sanctions imposed by the clubs were sufficient. 2:58am, 21 April 2021. [33] There is no clear rule as to when sanctions should be imposed concurrently or consecutively, so the Disciplinary Panel was entitled to act as it did. “Rapava-Ruskin and Williams were each shown a red card by referee Wayne Barnes in the Bath v Gloucester match on Friday, February 19 as follows: “All three players accepted the charges and were given the following suspensions by the independent disciplinary panel comprising Jeremy Summers (chair), with Chris Skaife and Jamie Corsi. Socialising is not a permitted reason. RugbyPass is the premier destination for rugby fans across the globe, with all the best rugby news, analysis, shows, highlights, podcasts, documentaries, live match statistics, fixtures & results, and much more! Almost three months after Saracens Rugby Club (“ Saracens ”) were punished for breaching the Premiership Rugby Salary Cap Regulations (the “ Regulations ”), Premiership Rugby (“ PRL ”) has released the full written decision (the “ Decision ”) of the Independent Disciplinary Panel (the “ Panel ”) that imposed the sanctions. Please email ben.cisneros@morgansl.com for any legal or media enquiries. [34] He may yet find himself subject to a further charge under RFU Rule 5.12. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience. The players emphasised that any breach of the MOS inevitably exposes people to some risk, and that the breach here was of a modest level – three people in a house, and two people in a car. It was only because of Stooke’s arrest that Bath Rugby came to be aware of the COVID-19-related breaches. As noted above, the RFU charged the players under the very broad RFU Rule 5.12 (conduct prejudicial to the interests of the Union or the Game).[4]. On the evening of 23 January 2021, the day after the England Six Nations squad had been announced, the three players met at Joseph’s home, where they socialized, ate, played cards and drank alcohol.[1]. Zander Fagerson’s ban during the 2021 Six Nations has caused widespread controversy. However, the Decision was upheld. Having first been taken to hospital as a precaution, Stooke was then arrested and interviewed by the police. On Friday 12 February, the RFU Council approved a moratorium on relegation from rugby’s Premiership for the 2020-21 season. The players appealed against the Disciplinary Panel’s decision (the “Decision”), and there was a subsequent hearing before an independent RFU Appeal Panel. No Interim Suspension Order was imposed on Oghre because he had already served the one-match suspension imposed by his club. [5], The hearing before the Disciplinary Panel was first convened on 4 February. [32] Paragraph 38 of the Appeal Decision. It may well be that, on consideration of the totality of the evidence, there was nothing to support the suggestion that Joseph’s mental wellbeing had been affected. The Disciplinary Panel added that the “ability to play professional sport is not to be taken for granted”[20] and that “[p]rofessional rugby players are not exempt from the sacrifices that every other member of the country has to make at this moment”. Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (All Tiers) (England) Regulations 2020, The Moratorium on Premiership Relegation: A Legal Perspective, Zander Fagerson – A Six Nations Rugby Disciplinary Update, World Rugby’s High Tackle Framework – An Update for 2020, Concussion Litigation in Rugby – Part I: Duty of Care. These cookies do not store any personal information. This author has particular sympathy for the argument that Stooke and Oghre’s second suspensions should have run concurrently, as it is clear that the car journey formed part of the same course of conduct. 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