If this is clamping down, God help us all.
Malakai Fekitoa has been handed a one-week ban for his tackle on Simon Zebo’s neck.
The All Blacks winger received a yellow card on Saturday after diving at the Irish winger and pulling him down by his head. He came back onto the pitch and scored his second try when he shouldn’t have been allowed to play any longer.
New Zealand won. Their honour was restored. And Fekitoa has been punished retrospectively – not that it really matters anymore.
An independent Disciplinary Committee found that Fekitoa’s actions would have warranted a red card. Great.
They then said it was reckless, not intentional. Okay.
And they also considered his previously clean record, his acknowledgment of wrongdoing, and his good conduct during the hearing so they could reduce his suspension to one week. What?
It means the centre will have to sit out of the All Blacks’ game with France in Paris and really think about what he’s done. He’ll never do it again if the punishment is as harsh as that…
The decision from the hearing didn’t exactly go down well in Ireland – and perhaps with justice-seekers all over the world.
Malakai Fekitoa handed one-week ban for tackle on Simon Zebo. Panel ruled should have been red card.
— Jonathan Bradley (@J_Bradley88) November 22, 2016
It’s done now – just like the game – and the injustice is still prevalent.
UPDATE: Malakai Fekitoa has been suspended by a disciplinary committee for one week after a reckless, dangerous tackle against Ireland.
— All Blacks (@AllBlacks) November 22, 2016
The disciplinary update reads:
Malakai Fekitoa, the New Zealand centre, appeared today in London (Heathrow) before an independent Disciplinary Committee (appointed by World Rugby), having been cited by an independent Citing Commissioner (appointed by World Rugby) for an allegedly dangerous tackle in contravention of Law 10.4 (e) in the Autumn International match between Ireland and New Zealand at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday 19 November 2016. Mr Fekitoa accepted that he had committed an act of foul play but asserted that it would not have warranted a red card.
The Disciplinary Committee, chaired by Antony Davies (England), alongside Derek Bevan (Wales) and John Doubleday (England), viewed video footage of the incident, listened to evidence and representations from and on behalf of the player, and reviewed all of the other evidence.
The Disciplinary Committee found that Mr Fekitoa’s actions would have warranted a red card, albeit that he had acted recklessly rather than intentionally. When considering sanction, the Disciplinary Committee concluded that the offending merited a low-end entry point based on World Rugby’s scale of seriousness, which carries a two-week playing suspension.
The Disciplinary Committee further found that there were no aggravating factors and that there were a number of mitigating factors (including Mr Fekitoa’s immediate acknowledgement of wrongdoing, his previous clean disciplinary record and his good conduct at the hearing) such that his playing suspension be reduced to one week.
Mr Fekitoa is therefore suspended from playing rugby for a total of one week, up to and including Sunday 27 November 2016.
They won’t change anything now.
No better feeling 🇳🇿🙏🏾
— Malakai Fekitoa (@MalakaiFekitoa) November 20, 2016
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