O'Connell Cited!!!! wtf????

kenmc

Irish Examiner is saying that OConnell is facing a citing charge
http://www.irishexaminer.com/breaking/story.asp?j=102212775&p=yxzzy33xx&n=102213377&x=
dunno if this is for the punchup on the touchline, but looked like there were 2 of them involved from what I saw... Never heard of a citing for a punchup before - only for something really underhand like a headbutt or something - the odd fisticuffs are part and parcel of the game at all levels....

Nothing on planetrugby yet though...

Eoin

must be for the punch up alright:

Ireland second-rower Paul O’Connell has been cited for allegedly punching Wales lock Robert Sidoli during the RBS 6 Nations match in Cardiff on Saturday.

Given that none of the match officials saw it at all, and therefore neither player was punished, they must have decided to have another look at it and could see that O'Connell started it seeing as Sidoli does not appear to have been sited (though I couldn't see how it started).

Although there wasn't much to it, I would imagine that the powers that be are keen to make sure that very visible fisticuffs / handbags are not gone unpunished.

When i saw that i could not believe it, i thought O'Connel had sense and a cool head, it'd be more like O'Driscoll or ROG to go swinging after getting a punch, If he's banned it's his own fault, i've no sympathy for professionals losing the rag.

Trojan

"Perugini has found himself in hot water before, with the Calvisano forward banned for 20 weeks after headbutting Ireland’s David Stringer in the 2002 Six Nations."

Poor David Stringer, he hasn't been seen since.

Must've been some headbutt!

a_ominous

I think the citation is right. I didn't see what led to the bust up, but O'Connell was sitting on top of the other lad, using a closed fist. Defo citation material. Fortunately he was so close, I don't think real damage was done.

BlueShaun

I clearly heard the ref saying he saw nothing, if its not in his report, and was handled on the spot (50/50 seemed to be his opinion, no point in sinbins), can action be taken?

yep, that's how Baby was cited last week, independent game commissioner takes charge

Eoin

Deleted User wrote:

yep, that's how Baby was cited last week, independent game commissioner takes charge

Exactly - the ref only said 50/50 because it is one of the few times that none of the three match officials saw anything at all.

Baby was seen by the linesman (and amazingly not by the ref) but apparently the linesman only saw him go into the ruck really late - that is why he was only penalised, not carded, at the time.

Trojan

Touch judges judge the touch, and linesmen man the lines

I think the incident wasn't really that bad. It was a flash loss of temper, no real intention of causing serious injury, you can tell simply by the relaxed stance of POC cleaning his boots leaning on Sidoli (nice touch POC). While not being a positive incident, I do believe that it highlights some of the positive, get-on-with-it, no-grudges attitudes of rugby.

They shook hands, so lets get on with it.

spanner

Trojan wrote:

Touch judges judge the touch, and linesmen man the lines

I think the incident wasn't really that bad. It was a flash loss of temper, no real intention of causing serious injury, you can tell simply by the relaxed stance of POC cleaning his boots leaning on Sidoli (nice touch POC). While not being a positive incident, I do believe that it highlights some of the positive, get-on-with-it, no-grudges attitudes of rugby.

They shook hands, so lets get on with it.

Definately, rugby is a physical game and it is what makes it better than soccer in my opinion and as long as it isnt anything as bad as stamping, headbutting or just something really underhanded (like baby) and the player can shake hands get on with the game.
incidents like that arent just part and parcel of the game, for anyone who plays the game knows if you start backing down from stuff like these it doesnt help you physcologically, you got to push back dont give an inch especially in the pack.

leeroybrown

Did anyone see that incident that made POC lose his rag? It doesn't seem to be in any camera footage. As incidents go it wasn't too bad and Sidoli is a similarly large guy too so hopefully he'll get off relatively lightly.

If he's banned I assume he'll end up missing Munsters upcoming match against Biarritz in France.

ruck-it

leeroybrown wrote:

If he's banned I assume he'll end up missing Munsters upcoming match against Biarritz in France.

Not necessarily, the most common estimate for a ban for that I've seen is two weeks. If that's enforced from the incident that means his ban finishes the day before the match in San Sebastian.

The Rooster

From where I was seated it looked bad. As said above O'Connell was on top of a prostrate Sidoli and laying in the punches.

However I actually think it was handbags stuff that looked worse than it was. Sidoli was completely unmarked and was man enough to shake hands afterwards. But its 50/50 whether he'll get banned for Biarritz

MG

ruck-it wrote:

Not necessarily, the most common estimate for a ban for that I've seen is two weeks. If that's enforced from the incident that means his ban finishes the day before the match in San Sebastian.

Baby got 4 weeks for seriously dangerous play so I would expect two weeks as well. However, I have read that Baby cannot play until April 14 which would imply that the 4 weeks started from when he was before the citing commission. If this is the case POC may well miss the Biarritz game. Hope this is wrong.

Ponster

any news yet on the result of todays hearing?

Eoin

full article here

Munster lock Paul O'Connell will be available to face Biarritz in the Heineken Cup quarter-final on Sunday week despite being handed a ban for punching this afternoon.

O'Connell was found guilty of striking his opposite number Robert Sidoli during last Saturday's Six Nations defeat to Wales after the pair clashed late in the second-half.

However, a three-man disciplinary committee handed the 25-year-old just a two-week ban, the minimum punishment under the guidelines, and O'Connell will now only be ruled out of Friday night's Celtic League trip to Newport where Alan Gaffney's side face the Gwent Dragons

hardCopy

Trojan wrote:

"Perugini has found himself in hot water before, with the Calvisano forward banned for 20 weeks after headbutting Ireland’s David Stringer in the 2002 Six Nations."

Poor David Stringer, he hasn't been seen since.

Someone on irishrugby.ie must have noticed the slip up, Peter Stringer now written in bold!

kenmc

bloody hell - a 2 week ban!! makes babys ban look incredibly lenient...
[irish examiner]
Paul O'Connell is set to escape with the the minimum ban of two weeks after being found guilty of punching Wales forward Robert Sidoli in last Saturday's Six Nations clash at the Millennium Stadium.

O'Connell appeared before a disciplinary committee at the London Heathrow hotel this morning.


It's believed the committee decided to impose the minimum sanction of two weeks on O'Connell.

The two-week ban will be backdated to the day of the incident which means O'Connell will be available to play for Munster against Biarritz in the quarter final of the Heineken Cup on Sunday April 3.

uberwolf

kenmc wrote:

The two-week ban will be backdated to the day of the incident which means O'Connell will be available to play for Munster against Biarritz in the quarter final of the Heineken Cup on Sunday April 3.

grand so - they had no option but to find him guilty to be fair.

Baby's ban was a farce, off the ball, unprovoked, against a prone, unsighted player. and the minimum for that offence should be 6 weeks, they pulled 2 weeks out of their arses.

MG

Great news that POC is available for Biarritz but I was dismayed to see that perugini got off scot free for thumping Dominici on the back of the neck!!

The citing process is a shambles if you get two weeks for a few paws on the jaw but cracking someone on the back of the neck is OK.

Steffano2002

I thought 1 month suspension for Baby was extreme. I was at the match so I didn't see what happened until I saw it on TV that night.
I didn't think it was a "terrible headbut"... I think the problem was because it was O'Driscoll (the hero, the star, etc) that was at the receiving end...

Then again I'm French so maybe that's why it didn't look bad to me...

Steffano2002

MG wrote:

Great news that POC is available for Biarritz but I was dismayed to see that perugini got off scot free for thumping Dominici on the back of the neck!!

The citing process is a shambles if you get two weeks for a few paws on the jaw but cracking someone on the back of the neck is OK.

I completely agree there MG! Ridiculous...

Trojan

Disagreed, that was a nasty one from Baby, and fully deserving of a month.

MG

Trojan wrote:

Disagreed, that was a nasty one from Baby, and fully deserving of a month.

Agreed - it was an extremely dangerous act and deserved a long suspension. I suspect O'Driscoll helped Baby a bit by not making a big deal about it afterwards. At the time he wasn't too impressed though!

DAEDULUS

cited = ?

Ponster

Etymology: Latin citare to rouse, call on, summon

1 : to demand the appearance of in court or before an official body : serve with a citation <had been cited for contempt> <you are hereby cited to show cause in the Probate Court>