Tommaso Benvenuti Benetton Rugby has been banned for a period of three weeks as a result of a Citing Complaint that was upheld arising from in the Guinness PRO14 Round 11 fixture with Glasgow Warriors on March 27, 2021.
The Player was cited under Law 9.12 – A player must not physically abuse anyone. Physical abuse includes, but is not limited to, biting, punching, contact with the eye or eye area, striking with any part of the arm (including stiff-arm tackles), shoulder, head or knee(s), stamping, trampling, tripping or kicking.
The Disciplinary process for the Citing Complaint was presided over by Judicial Officer John Carroll (Ireland) who concluded that a lower-end entry-point offence had occurred, which carries a four-week suspension.
Having considered all available materials, the Player’s conduct throughout the process only a 25% level of mitigation (one week) could be applied given the Player’s previous disciplinary record and that he did not accept his actions met the threshold for a red card.
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. The player’s suspension will be confirmed once Benetton’s future European fixtures are confirmed.
