Lloyd Fairbrother of Dragons Rugby faced a Disciplinary Hearing today via a video conference and has been banned for three weeks.
A Disciplinary Committee met in Edinburgh to consider the red-card decision against Fairbrother (No 3) of Dragons Rugby which occurred against Cardiff Blues on Friday, December 21, 2018.
The player was shown a red card by referee Frank Murphy under Law 9.20 – Dangerous Play in a ruck or maul. A player must not charge into a ruck or maul. Charging includes any contact made without binding onto another player in the ruck or maul.
The incident occurred in the 30th minute of the Guinness PRO14 Round 11 fixture at Cardiff Arms Park (Cardiff) when the referee deemed the player to have committed an act of foul play against an opponent (No 3, Dillon Lewis).
The player accepted that he had committed an act of foul play and his actions warranted a red card.
The Disciplinary Committee, comprising of Sherriff Kathrine Mackie (Chair), Jennifer Rae and Robert Milligan QC (All Scotland), concluded that the player had committed an act of foul play, that that act of foul play warranted a red card and so the referee’s decision to issue the red card was not wrong.
The Committee found that there was an act of foul play with contact to the head, which carries a mid-range entry point of six weeks. A ban of six weeks was reduced due to mitigating factors including the player’s good record, acceptance of the red card and behaviour throughout the hearing.
The Committee therefore banned the player for a period of three weeks meaning that he is free to play from midnight on Sunday, January 13, 2019.
The player was reminded of his right to appeal.
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