Robert Baloucoune of Ulster faced a Disciplinary Hearing today via video conference and has been banned for two weeks.
A Disciplinary Committee convened in Edinburgh to consider the Citing Complaint made against the player for an incident which occurred against Munster Rugby on Friday, December 21, 2018. The complaint refers to an incident in the 1st minute of the Guinness PRO14 Round 11 fixture at Kingspan Stadium (Belfast).
The player was reported by the Citing Commissioner in charge for alleged infringement of Law 9.11 – Players must not do anything that is reckless or dangerous to others and Law 9.17 – A player must not tackle, charge, pull, push or grasp an opponent whose feet are off the ground.
The Disciplinary Committee comprising of Robert Milligan QC (Chair), Sheriff Kathrine Mackie and Jennifer Rae (All Scotland) concluded that the player had committed an act of foul play in terms of Law 9.17. The player also accepted that his actions warranted a red card.
In upholding the Citing Complaint the Disciplinary Committee deemed that the offence merited a low end-range entry point of four weeks. Full mitigation of 50 per cent was applied after considering the player’s previously clean disciplinary record, his admission that his actions warranted a red card and the co-operation of both the player and his club throughout the process.
As a result, the player is banned for a period of two weeks and is free to play from midnight on Sunday, January 6, 2019.
The player was reminded of his right to appeal.
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