Jarrad Butler of Connacht Rugby has been banned for a period of three weeks as a result of his red card in the Guinness PRO14 Round 15 fixture with Edinburgh Rugby on Saturday, 13 March, 2021.
The Player was shown a red card by referee Chris Busby (IRFU) under Law 9.13 – A player must not tackle an opponent early, late or dangerously. Dangerous tackling includes, but is not limited to, tackling or attempting to tackle an opponent above the line of the shoulders even if the tackle starts below the line of the shoulders.
The Disciplinary process for the red card offence was presided over by Judicial Officer Achille Reali (FIR) who concluded that a mid-range offence had occurred, which carries a six-week suspension.
Having considered the match footage, injury details, Butler’s Disciplinary record and expression of remorse, a reduction of three weeks was applied by the Judicial Officer.
The Player is suspended from participating in the next three meaningful matches. Should a game be cancelled or postponed during this window of games, the player and PRO14 are to submit updated fixtures to the Disciplinary Panel so the return date can be advised.
Please note: The following fixtures are relevant to the playing ban notice above and that A fixtures arranged by a union with the specific intent to prepare players for first-team games are considered as meaningful.
- Guinness PRO14 Round 16 Scarlets v Connacht (Monday, March 22, 2021)
- EPCR Challenge Cup Leicester v Connacht Rugby (Friday, April 2, 2021) and Connacht “A” Rugby v TBC
- EPCR Challenge Cup QF Connacht v TBC (April 9/10/11, 2021) or Guinness PRO14 Rainbow Cup Round 1
