Oh Dear Chris

[CunningPunter]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/45246509

England and Sale winger Chris Ashton is facing a ban after punching Castres' Rory Kockott in a pre-season friendly.

Good job it wasn't a needle match then. But are we seeing a pattern here?

[oldbackrow]

3 reds and 4 (?) yellows in a pre season 'friendly' says it wasn't that friendly! French media saying Kockett when scuffling for the ball, accidentally got a finger into Ashtons eye then nose! But apparently it was Ashtons fault for not releasing the ball, so Kockett shouldn't have been carded!
https://rugbyonslaught.com/red-card-x2- ... -friendly/
Whatever happened it was a stupid reaction but can't say I wouldn't have done the same!

[Timbo]

Wasn’t a punch, it was a tip ‘tackle’. And having seen it from the other side was a pretty harsh red imo.

[oldbackrow]

Yes, just seen the other view and what I took as a punch is Ashton 'throwing' Kockett to the ground (not really a tip tackle or spear. Ashton hold the back of his neck and gestures to his face which would give some credence to the French report of Kockett making contact with Ashton face and grabbing his neck.

[Puja]

Seven weeks for a tip-tackle. I thought it must've been awful for that to happen and went to youtube to find this potentially career-ending bit of violence:



That is comedy. It's a borderline red - Kockott clearly lands on his back, rather than neck or head and, although I am willing to upgrade it for the fact that it's retaliation rather than a mistake, it's in no way a 7-week ban.

While Ashton should never have put himself in the position for it to happen, he has undoubtedly got shafted by the RFU wheel of disciplinary, again.

Puja

[Raggs]

Yes and no. It's not in play, so it's basically just an attack, retaliation or not. It's a nasty tip though he does land on his back. Thing is, Ashton doesn't have a good record (he's been shafted in the past too), and we don't know what the plea was.

[Digby]

Need to see the judgement really, it's maybe a bit harsh but he's let go so is in no control and there's previous

[Puja]

Yes and no. It's not in play, so it's basically just an attack, retaliation or not. It's a nasty tip though he does land on his back. Thing is, Ashton doesn't have a good record (he's been shafted in the past too), and we don't know what the plea was.

Apparently plead not guilty, which strikes me as foolish at best. It's clearly a tip, whether it's a red or a yellow depends on perspective, but it's not unfair to call it a red considering it is just an attack, as you said, so I don't see his mileage in not simply pleading guilty, apologising, and offering good biscuit-eating technique. Unless his defence was simply that Kockott deserves everything he ever gets, of course, which I think might have some mileage.

On second thoughts, given that there's no deductions for pleading guilty or previous good behaviour, 7 weeks doesn't seem so bad. Certainly the biting and the "gouging" were far worse travesties of justice.

Puja

[Raggs]

Fingers in the eye area was a joke, especially compared to what happened to SH players a few months later (bugger all).

[oldbackrow]

Whats even more irritating for Ashton is that Kockott gets a one week ban! No investigation into what he was doing grabbing hold of Ashtons neck and face to get hold of the ball. Juan Imhoff had the same treatment off Kockott and got a ban for his reaction.!

[Timbo]

For it to be red doesn’t the tackled player have to land on his head or neck? Borderline back or head for me, and without tv replays and with it being a friendly I’m not sure why Poite has decided to send him off.

The whole thing seems ludicrously officious. Ashton will now miss over a quarter of his teams league games. For that!

[Timbo]

Makes you wonder if teams won’t just have pre season games behind closed doors. Doubt they make much money from opening the stadium up, and if they’re going to lose players based on 50:50 calls and shit tv pictures...

[Raggs]

For it to be red doesn’t the tackled player have to land on his head or neck? Borderline back or head for me, and without tv replays and with it being a friendly I’m not sure why Poite has decided to send him off.

The whole thing seems ludicrously officious. Ashton will now miss over a quarter of his teams league games. For that!

When it's a tackle, yes, when it's just as an act of retaliation, the bar is a bit lower I'd say.

[Timbo]

For it to be red doesn’t the tackled player have to land on his head or neck? Borderline back or head for me, and without tv replays and with it being a friendly I’m not sure why Poite has decided to send him off.

The whole thing seems ludicrously officious. Ashton will now miss over a quarter of his teams league games. For that!

When it's a tackle, yes, when it's just as an act of retaliation, the bar is a bit lower I'd say.

Does that stack up in the laws of the game? The specific offence was ‘tip tackle’ wasn’t it? And for Ashton to see red he’d have had to meet the threshold for that specific offence.

I would have thought that had he been sent off for a retaliatory act of violence the offence would have been something else; ‘violent conduct’ or something similar?

Absurd when you think about it that he could have got less for actually swinging a punch, given that the entry point for a punch is 4 weeks.

[onlynameleft]

Story on the Beeb about possibly fictitious match with Sale FC to get him back playing before the AI’s might prove interesting. Was supposed to be last night although F.C. played a match on Thursday so odd to have 2 in 2 days and nothing on either club’s website.