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Estebanez was alleged to have struck the Saracens player, David Strettle (No 11), with his arm during the first half of the match at Stade de la Beaujoire in contravention of Law 10.4(a) of the IRB's laws of the game. The complaint was made by Citing Commissioner, Eddie Walsh (Ireland).
Law 10.4(a) reads: Punching or striking. A player must not strike an opponent with the fist or arm, including the elbow, shoulder, head or knee(s).
Under the IRB's sanctioning regime for Foul Play, which ERC is obliged to follow, the entry points for a breach of law 10.4(a) where a player strikes an opponent with a hand, arm or fist, are the following periods of suspension (in each case the suspension is a blanket ban from playing rugby union anywhere in the world): 2 weeks (lower end), 5 weeks (mid range) and 8 weeks up to 52 weeks (top end).
The independent Judicial Officer, Pat Barriscale (Ireland), heard evidence and submissions from Estebanez, who pleaded not guilty to the offence, from John O'Donnell SC and from the Racing Metro 92 Chief Executive, Arnaud Tourtoulou. He also heard submissions from the ERC Disciplinary Officer, Roger O'Connor.
The Judicial Officer upheld the complaint and found that Estebanez had committed a reckless act. He determined that the act was in the mid range (5 weeks) of the IRB's sanctioning regime and taking into account the limited mitigating factors of the player's remorse and good conduct during the hearing, the Judicial Officer reduced the suspension by one (1) week.
As there were no aggravating factors, the Judicial Officer imposed a suspension of four (4) weeks.
Estebanez will be free to play on Monday, 11 February 2013. Both the player and ERC have the right to appeal the decision.
Guillemain suspended for five weeks
The Stade Francais Paris player, Juan Cruz Guillemain, has been suspended for five (5) weeks following an independent Disciplinary Hearing in Dublin arising from the Amlin Challenge Cup, Pool 5 match against Grenoble on Saturday, 12 January 2013.
Guillemain was alleged to have struck the Grenoble player, Fabien Alexandre (No 6), with his head during the second half of the match at Stade Lesdiguières in contravention of Law 10.4(a) of the IRB's laws of the game. The complaint was made by Citing Commissioner, Richard McGhee (Scotland).
Law 10.4(a) reads: Punching or striking. A player must not strike an opponent with the fist or arm, including the elbow, shoulder, head or knee(s).
Under the IRB's sanctioning regime for Foul Play, which ERC is obliged to follow, the entry points for a breach of law 10.4(a) where a player strikes an opponent with his head, are the following periods of suspension (in each case the suspension is a blanket ban from playing rugby union anywhere in the world): 4 weeks (lower end), 10 weeks (mid range) and 16+ weeks up to 104 weeks (top end).
The independent Judicial Officer, Pat Barriscale (Ireland), heard evidence and submissions from Guillemain, who pleaded guilty to the offence, from John O'Donnell SC and from the Stade Francais Paris representative, Cedric Boudarel. He also heard submmissions from the ERC Disciplinary Officer, Roger O'Connor.
The Judicial Officer upheld the complaint and found that Guillemain had committed an intentional act. He determined that the act was in the mid range (10 weeks) of the IRB's sanctioning regime and taking into account the player's clean disciplinary record, his guilty plea, his remorse, his inexperience and his exemplary conduct during the hearing, the Judicial Officer reduced the suspension by the maximum 50 per cent permitted.
Given also that there were no aggravating factors, the Judicial Officer imposed a suspension of five (5) weeks.
Guillemain will be free to play on Monday, 18 February 2013. Both the player and ERC have the right to appeal the decision.
Notes
(i) Citing Commissioner
a) Citing Commissioners are appointed by ERC for all Heineken Cup and all televised Amlin Challenge Cup matches and shall be entitled to cite a player for any act or acts of Foul Play that in the Citing Commissioner's opinion warranted a red card.
b) For such matches, clubs will not have the power to cite a player but may refer incidents to the Citing Commissioner within 26 hours of the start of the match.
c) The Citing Commissioner will have 50 hours from the start of the match to make a citing. In certain circumstances this deadline can be extended.
d) The ERC Disciplinary Officer, Roger O'Connor, may forward the submitted citing to a Citing Officer to determine whether there are sufficient grounds for the citing to progress.
e) The Disciplinary Officer will then bring a charge against the cited player.
(ii) Disciplinary Hearing
a) The independent Judicial Officer is chosen by the chairman of the independent Disciplinary Panel, Professor Lorne Crerar.
b) ERC's Disciplinary Officer, Roger O'Connor, presents the case against the player.
c) If a citing complaint is upheld, the independent Judicial Officer will be required to consider the appropriate sanction. Under the IRB's sanctioning regime, which ERC is obliged to follow, the Judicial Officer will first assess the seriousness of the player's actions and determine which of the three stipulated entry points (lower end, mid range and top end) is the most appropriate.
d) The Judicial Officer will determine the appropriate entry point based on his/her assessment of a number of particular characteristics of the player's actions, including whether or not they were intentional, whether or not they caused any injuries and whether or not they had any effect on the relevant match.
e) After deciding the entry point, the Judicial Officer will then consider whether the suspension should be increased from the entry point to take account of certain specified aggravating factors, such as a poor disciplinary record or the need for deterrence, and/or decreased from the entry point to take account of certain specified mitigating actions, such as a guilty plea, a good disciplinary record, the player's conduct at the hearing and expressions of remorse.
d) A suspension is a blanket ban from playing rugby union anywhere in the world.
e) Both parties to the hearing (ERC and the player) have the right to appeal decisions of the independent Disciplinary Hearing. Appeals must be lodged within three (3) working days of receiving the full written decision of the Judicial Officer.
f) The full written decision of the Judicial Officer will be available on www.ercrugby.com/disciplinenews when the disciplinary process is complete
g) For IRB Sanctions for Foul Play, found at Appendix 1 to IRB Regulation 17, please click here
