Owen Farrell red card: England captain to miss first two World Cup pool games as ban reinstatedon August 22, 2023 at 8:15 pm

- Advertisement -
- Advertisement -
- Advertisement -
- Advertisement -

Owen Farrell will miss the first two pool games at the World Cup as World Rugby successfully appeals against the decision to overturn his red card.

Owen Farrell after being sent off against Wales

The England captain’s four-game ban means he will miss the group games against Argentina and Japan, with two warm-up matches also included.

Farrell’s red card had been overturned by an independent judicial committee, which was then overruled on Tuesday.

The Appeal Committee said the tackle was “always illegal”.

Farrell became the first England player to receive a red card from rugby’s new ‘bunker’ review system when he made a high tackle on Taine Basham during England’s 19-17 win over Wales on 12 August.

The Appeal Committee found that, in their original hearing, the Disciplinary Committee should have considered Farrell’s attempt to wrap his opponent in the tackle.

Therefore the Appeal Committee determined that no mitigation could be made for the tackle, and that the original decision to overturn the red card was an error, which led them to ban Farrell.

The ban will include last weekend’s 29-10 defeat by Ireland in Dublin, which the Appeal Committee said Farrell “voluntarily stood down” from playing in after World Rugby announced its intention to appeal beforehand.

The 31-year-old will also miss the final warm-up game against Fiji this weekend at Twickenham as well as the first two pool matches. He will be available to play again on 23 September against Chile.

England’s opening World Cup game against Argentina is on 9 September in Marseille.

When launching its appeal against the overturning of the ban, World Rugby said “player welfare is the number one priority”.

In January, the RFU approved a reduction in tackle height for the community game in England in order to improve player safety, while tightening laws around high tackles in the professional game aimed to further help the issue.

England number eight Billy Vunipola is also due to face the disciplinary panel for a red card in the defeat by Ireland following a high tackle which resulted in direct head contact on Ireland prop Andrew Porter.

A ban of more than one game for Vunipola would result in England also being without their only specialist number eight for the start of the competition.

- Advertisement -

Discover

Sponsor

Latest

‘What he said is very, very dangerous’ – Sutton says Lampard may regret Everton criticismon March 21, 2022 at 9:33 pm

Everton manager Frank Lampard may regret criticising his struggling squad and questioning their courage, says Premier League-winning striker Chris Sutton.

Netflix password crackdown fuels sign-up surgeon January 23, 2024 at 11:39 pm

The company is planning price increases, even as many new users opt for its cheaper plan with adverts.Image source, Getty ImagesNetflix sign-ups boomed at...

Brussels attacks: Trial begins over 2016 attacks that killed 32on December 5, 2022 at 12:07 am

As 10 men finally go to trial over the 2016 Brussels attacks, the BBC speaks to victims' families.Image source, BBC/Mohamed El BachiriBy Nick BeakeBBC...

HSBC UK customers unable to access online bankingon November 4, 2022 at 10:56 pm

The bank says it is investigating after customers reported they were unable to pay for their shopping.Image source, Getty ImagesHSBC customers in the UK...

Queen Elizabeth II: What her death means to Malaysiaon September 13, 2022 at 11:15 pm

Tributes are paid to Queen Elizabeth amid calls for the Commonwealth to be reformed for a new age.Tributes are paid to Queen Elizabeth amid...