Masi cited for Kearney tackle

juvenal

Italian number 15 Andrea Masi has been cited for a dangerous tackle on Ireland full back Robert Kearney, and will appear before an independent three-man panel in London tomorrow (Wednesday 18/2).

Masi was yellow-carded for a coathanger inside the first minute of Ireland's 38-9 victory in the Italian capital on Sunday afternoon. The tackle, which could have been red in the eyes of many pundits and fans, set the tone for what was a bruising encounter, which saw three sin-binnings during the game.

If found guilty, Masi could miss Italy's next assignment against Scotland, which could be the wooden-spoon match in this year's championship.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/rugby_union/irish/7895642.stm

beertons

Proper order.

juvenal

Video footage for those of you who haven't seen it yet. 32 seconds in to be precise. I'll be amazed if he doesn't receive a ban of some sort.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GGrU75XrHOM

High quality footage available on YouTube.

dreamer_ire

It was a disgraceful tackle. Hope he gets a nice seat for the next few games.

kensutz

It was a ridiculous tackle and not the best way to start off the match with your side being reduced to 14 for 10 mins. Although at the time it didn't make much difference as Italy were getting the upper hand at the time.

dceire

Damn right, it was an awful tackle on leinsters finest!:D

Stev_o

I have seen worse and gotten away with it, infact i wouldn't be surprised if he got a long ban just because he is Italian.

barnesd

I'm not even going to call it a tackle, it was a clothesline. I hope he gets a lengthy ban.

eroo

dceire wrote: »

Damn right, it was an awful tackle on Ireland's finest!:D

Changed that for you!;)

Sangre

second he did it i actually thought it would benefit italy. cause ireland to lose the rag, get overly aggressive and give away stupid penalties which was pretty much what happened.

dceire

eroo wrote: »

Changed that for you!;)

Oh thanks a lot...its so nice how we look out for one another on here!

conf101

It was a vicious tackle and deserved red at the time. He'll definitely get a ban!

Chucky the tree

conf101 wrote: »

It was a vicious tackle and deserved red at the time. He'll definitely get a ban!

Let's not go crazy now.

God1991

Ya twas a horrible tackle if anythin italy gained from it being up when he came bak on and roughing up ireland should get a ban

besty

Higher likelihood of it receiving a red card if it wasn't so early in the game IMO. I think the ref may have displayed a modicum of leniency seeing as the game had pretty much just kicked off. Still, shocking tackle.

Noopti

Stev_o wrote: »

I have seen worse and gotten away with it, infact i wouldn't be surprised if he got a long ban just because he is Italian.

Chucky the tree wrote: »

Let's not go crazy now.

C'mon lads! It was a straight arm clothesline into a players neck and very dangerous. He deserved a red at the time and he deserves a ban. Nothing to do with him being Italian.

If Kearney had done this to his opposite number I would also expect him to be banned, and rightly so. No place in the game for this.

puntosporting

This citing is bull**** in my opinion!
The offence was clear to see on the day by touch judge and referee they made a call on yellow like it or not!
The ref bottled his decision on the day so he should have to stand over it!
Its not good masi receiving a ban against other teams as his foul was against Ireland and we wont gain anything from him being banned later on!

Noopti

puntosporting wrote: »

This citing is bull**** in my opinion!
The offence was clear to see on the day by touch judge and referee they made a call on yellow like it or not!
The ref bottled his decision on the day so he should have to stand over it!
Its not good masi receiving a ban against other teams as his foul was against Ireland and we wont gain anything from him being banned later on!

Yeah, he should have got a red and been out for our match but he didn't and that can't be changed now. But you can't just say "oh well, he got away with it. No point in taking it further", it just doesn't work like that.

He should be banned and the ref and the assistant should be spoken to as to why they didn't make the call that should have been made at the time.

Diom

I agree that the wrong decision was made at the time. I don't mind citing though, and I think that regardless of the original punishment the citing should be separate. It's a pity because Masi is one decent player among a fairly rubbish backline for Italy.

murphym7

puntosporting wrote: »

This citing is bull**** in my opinion!
The offence was clear to see on the day by touch judge and referee they made a call on yellow like it or not!
QUOTE]

Thats what the citing commitee is there for to make sure players get the appropriate punnishment. That tackle was one of the most dangerous I've seen. It took Kearney right off his feet. He should get a nice long ban, F**ker.

Blisterman

Well at least he's gonna be missing Scotland.

If he were missing a match against a stronger side, and the Italian team were weaker as a result, it could actually disadvantage Ireland in the tournament, if it eventually came down to point difference.

Webbs

Not sure if I agree with citing someone if they have already been dealt with on the pitch. But seeing as he has and with recent bans such as Corry for 'contacting the eye area' who only got a few weeks then the most Masi should get is a week maybe 2, though as he is Italian I see it being a lot longer

puntosporting

I fully understand and appreciated the citing comitee when it comes to hard to see incidents and incidents that were never seen but this one was a gimee and is undermining the ref even do the ref was wrong!

Noopti

puntosporting wrote: »

I fully understand and appreciated the citing comitee when it comes to hard to see incidents and incidents that were never seen but this one was a gimee and is undermining the ref even do the ref was wrong!

So what if it is undermining the ref! He made a mistake and the mistake will be corrected. Maybe next time there is a dangerous deliberate high tackle in the first minute of the game he won't bottle the decision.

sslazio11

Noopti wrote: »

So what if it is undermining the ref! He made a mistake and the mistake will be corrected. Maybe next time there is a dangerous deliberate high tackle in the first minute of the game he won't bottle the decision.

+1 Noopti. This attitude of "Ah, it's the first minute of the game, it's too early to be sending someone off", is ridiculous.

The other possibility is that he didn't deem the offence worthy of a red card, in which case Chris White and/or the touch judge would want a serious talking to. Clotheslining a guy who's running at high speed is incredibly dangerous, an automatic red card any way you look at it.

Stev_o

sslazio11 wrote: »

+1 Noopti. This attitude of "Ah, it's the first minute of the game, it's too early to be sending someone off", is ridiculous.

The other possibility is that he didn't deem the offence worthy of a red card, in which case Chris White and/or the touch judge would want a serious talking to. Clotheslining a guy who's running at high speed is incredibly dangerous, an automatic red card any way you look at it.

Its a high tackle mate and its simply horrible timing, Masi lined Kearney up and ran out to meet him and got it horribly wrong, seriously if people think it was that bad why did Kearney get straight up? Surely if it was that bad he'd be down and stay down. Masi got it wrong look at the video straight afterwards he's knows he f*cked up and doesn't get involved at all in the scuffle.

High tackles happen and it is very rare to see one where its 100% intent, if Masi wanted to take out for the game he could have.

Paulw

3 week ban for Masi.


"The committee imposed a suspension of three (3) weeks up to and including Sunday, 8 March, 2009, having deemed the offence to be within the mid-range of IRB sanctions for dangerous tackling.

The player received credit for admitting the offence, expressing regret and remorse and for his previous good disciplinary record. The player has the right of appeal."

Deserved, in my opinion.

NickNolte

Stev_o wrote: »

Its a high tackle mate and its simply horrible timing, Masi lined Kearney up and ran out to meet him and got it horribly wrong, seriously if people think it was that bad why did Kearney get straight up?

Professional rugby players don't "accidentally" clothesline people. Even if it was a complete genuine freak of nature accident, it's still deserving of a red card. Just because Kearney wasn't injured it hardly makes it okay. He could just as easily have been carried off on a stretcher in a neckbrace.

Chris White had a shocking match in every aspect - it's hardly surprising that he got this decision wrong too. Masi's citing just compounds the assertion that White made the wrong decision.

Stev_o

NickNolte wrote: »

Professional rugby players don't "accidentally" clothesline people. Even if it was a complete genuine freak of nature accident, it's still deserving of a red card. Just because Kearney wasn't injured it hardly makes it okay. He could just as easily have been carried off on a stretcher in a neckbrace.

Chris White had a shocking match in every aspect - it's hardly surprising that he got this decision wrong too. Masi's citing just compounds the assertion that White made the wrong decision.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELwTnuUjcuI

You think this was intentionally aswell?

No card handed either and much more dangerous imo.

NickNolte

Stev_o wrote: »

No card handed either and much more dangerous imo.

Very dangerous but nowhere near as dangerous as the tackle on Kearney. Hanging off someone's neck and slamming your arm into someone's throat are very different. Still though, the referee should had given a card in that case.

Ah, sure why don't we just legalise high tackles? :rolleyes:

Stev_o

NickNolte wrote: »

Very dangerous but nowhere near as dangerous as the tackle on Kearney. Hanging off someone's neck and slamming your arm into someone's throat are very different. Still though, the referee should had given a card in that case.

Ah, sure why don't we just legalise high tackles? :rolleyes:

No the thing im trying to say as these things happen they aren't intentionally they are either lazyness and bad technique ending in a high tackle or just a knee jerk reaction.

NickNolte

Stev_o wrote: »

No the thing im trying to say as these things happen they aren't intentionally they are either lazyness and bad technique ending in a high tackle or just a knee jerk reaction.

Intentional or incompetent tackling. Whatever you want to call it, it's massively dangerous and should be punished in the harshest manner. The citing committee obviously agree with this, hence the 3 week ban.

Stev_o

NickNolte wrote: »

Intentional or incompetent tackling. Whatever you want to call it, it's massively dangerous and should be punished in the harshest manner. The citing committee obviously agree with this, hence the 3 week ban.

3 ban is fairly lenient compared to some erratic bans by the citing committee.

mc23

When I watched the tackle on sunday I reminded me of this, espically as they were both in the opening min of the match.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VWqvmGddkyw

handsomecake

right idea though. smash into the irish and rough them up from minute one.
thought it was your run of the mill high tackle in fairness. kearneys fall made it look worse.
yellow was fair.
ban is harsh.

handsomecake

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_AbDALPfDc
check out rabenis hit near the end.
stuart barnes describes him as a human missile.
good dust up between leoo and tuilagi as well

NickNolte

handsomecake wrote: »

thought it was your run of the mill high tackle in fairness. kearneys fall made it look worse.

Wow. Run of the mill high tackle? You, eh, realise high tackles are illegal?

handsomecake wrote: »

good dust up between leoo and tuilagi as well

Ah I get it. You're "new rugby".

handsomecake

well done.you figured me out in one post.i know they are illegal but "run of the mill" means ordinary,nothing special,average etc.

i have seen far far far worse like lloyd johannsonns "coat hanger" on stirling mortlock(which left him unconscious) in last years super 14 and i have seen better like adam thomsons high shot against SA in last years tri-nations which was innocuous to say the least but it started an all-in brawl and the infamous thorn smit "spear tackle".you clearly dont understand this as you are "old rugby" and any thing south of musgrave park is southern hemisphere rugby.get up off your holier then thou "dont hurt the poor little irish" high horse.

NickNolte

NickNolte wrote: »

Ah I get it. You're "new rugby".

If enjoying watching two polynesian freaks kick lumps out of each other,then there will be alot of "new rugby" fans on boards

NickNolte

handsomecake wrote: »

well done.you figured me out in one post.i know they are illegal but "run of the mill" means ordinary,nothing special,average etc.

i have seen far far far worse like lloyd johannsonns "coat hanger" on stirling mortlock(which left him unconscious) in last years super 14 and i have seen better like adam thomsons high shot against SA in last years tri-nations which was innocuous to say the least but it started an all-in brawl and the infamous thorn smit "spear tackle".you clearly dont understand this as you are "old rugby" and any thing south of musgrave park is southern hemisphere rugby.get up off your holier then thou "dont hurt the poor little irish" high horse.

I love it when 'tough' men assert that the rules that are there to protect players in rugby should be flaunted for the sake of bravado. It's pathetic and indicitive of a shrunken manhood.

handsomecake

NickNolte wrote: »

I love it when 'tough' men assert that the rules that are there to protect players in rugby should be flaunted for the sake of bravado. It's pathetic and indicitive of a shrunken manhood.

christ almighty.a lot of people like to see a bit of passionate fisty cuffs in a match.surely im not in the minority.
i think the fact that you only get yellows for fighting is indicative of what people think of it. when munster played clermont auvergne in thomond park the auvergne second row and o connell exchanged full-on blows to the face.out side a nightclub on a friday thats assault,but on front of 40000 witnesses its just a yellow.fighting is part and parcel of sport(im not advocating it) but for you to attack me over it is silly. look at gaa/ice hockey/rugby.

NickNolte

handsomecake wrote: »

christ almighty.a lot of people like to see a bit of passionate fisty cuffs in a match.surely im not in the minority

You'll grow out of your boyish desire for pointless violence when you get older.

twinytwo

Stev_o wrote: »

No the thing im trying to say as these things happen they aren't intentionally they are either lazyness and bad technique ending in a high tackle or just a knee jerk reaction.

Or done to prevent a try...

handsomecake

NickNolte wrote: »

You'll grow out of your boyish desire for pointless violence when you get older.

are you trying to belittle me?
you dont know what age i am.
why are you being smart?

puntosporting

Looks like refs can just ignore major decisions now and let a citing comitee ref after the game!

Noopti

puntosporting wrote: »

Looks like refs can just ignore major decisions now and let a citing comitee ref after the game!

Not really. I'm sure on certain occasions where the offense is obvious then they will be talked to about missing it/not punishing enough.

Stev_o

twinytwo wrote: »

Or done to prevent a try...

Then it'll always be a penalty try:rolleyes: Whats your point?

chupacabra

Kearney should have recieved a yellow for diving :pac:

molloyjh

Noopti wrote: »

C'mon lads! It was a straight arm clothesline into a players neck and very dangerous. He deserved a red at the time and he deserves a ban. Nothing to do with him being Italian.

If Kearney had done this to his opposite number I would also expect him to be banned, and rightly so. No place in the game for this.

+1

puntosporting wrote: »

...Ireland and we wont gain anything from him being banned later on!

It's not about Ireland gaining anything, its about punishing the offender. Locking up a murderer hardly helps his victims now does it!?

Stev_o wrote: »

Its a high tackle mate and its simply horrible timing, Masi lined Kearney up and ran out to meet him and got it horribly wrong, seriously if people think it was that bad why did Kearney get straight up? Surely if it was that bad he'd be down and stay down. Masi got it wrong look at the video straight afterwards he's knows he f*cked up and doesn't get involved at all in the scuffle.

High tackles happen and it is very rare to see one where its 100% intent, if Masi wanted to take out for the game he could have.

Have a closer look at it again Stev_o. He lined Kearney up, had the arm out well in advance at neck level (it's not like Kearney ducked or anything) and then when he was about to hit (and you'll see this clearly from the reverse angle) he put his whole body into the clothes-line. The timing was as deliberate as the tackle and it was a blatant attempt to put us off.