The Sanzaar Foul Play Review Committee (FPRC) has found Suliasi Vunivalu of the Queensland Reds team guilty of contravening Law 9.12 - “A player must not physically abuse anyone. Physical abuse includes, but is not limited to tripping”.
Vunivalu has been suspended from all forms of the game up to and including 25 May.
The incident occurred in the 45th minute of the Super Rugby Pacific match between Fijian Drua and the Reds at the HFC Bank Stadium, Suva, on 18 May.
The FPRC, comprised of Stephen Hardy (Chairman), Ofisa Tonu’u and Stefan Terblanche, assessed the incident.
In his finding, Hardy ruled as follows: "Having conducted a detailed review of all the available evidence, including all camera angles and additional evidence, including submissions by the player, the Foul Play Review Committee upheld the red card and found the player to have contravened Law 9.12.
“The FPRC assessed the player's actions as including two separate foul play actions of tripping.
“The FPRC have found these actions as amounting to persistent offending under law 9.12, which warrants an entry point suspension of 2 weeks.
“The Player was given a 50% discount for entering an early guilty plea (and other relevant mitigating factors including remorse and prior disciplinary record), reducing the suspension from two weeks to one week. The player is therefore suspended up to and including 25 May 2024.”
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