Case Number:

ON/1146/22

Greg Worthington #3, Halifax

Competition:

Championship

Match:

Barrow Raiders v Halifax Panthers

Match Date:

2022-06-27

Incident:

Punching
Approximately 51 minutes

Decision:

Charge

Charge Detail:

Law 15.1 (a)

Strikes – Punching – One on One – makes contact with the head of the opponent

Grade D

Fine:

£250

Sanctions:

3-5

Decision On Charge

Player plea:

Guilty

Summary of CM's submissions on the Charge / evidence:

Mr Worthington takes the ball into contact and shrugs off his opponent Mr Miloudi and then proceeds to move forward with Mr Miloudi and 2 other Barrow players in attention. Mr Miloudi gets in tight and can be seen to drive his head at Mr Worthington for which he has received and accepted a separate On Field charge of misconduct. Upon completion of the tackle, Mr Worthington throws the ball to the ground and throws a solid punch to the head of Mr Miloudi. Mr Worthington tries to throw at least 2 other punches however none appear to make contact before the mele is stopped. Mr Worthington the MRP argue, whilst understandably annoyed and frustrated has time to consider his actions and cannot take matters into his own hands. These must be dealt with by the On Field officials.

In determining the Grade at D, the MRP submit the following:

- Both have thrown one punch which has connected with the head area.
- There were no other punches thrown that connected.
- However, the punch was of a forceful nature, and it would appear the opponent Mr Miloudi sustained a notable injury to the eye.

Summary of Player's submissions on the Charge / evidence:

Head Coach Simon Grix appeared on the player's behalf. No issue with the plea but cited provocation with a grapple tackle and a head butt which had been dealt with separately by the MRP

Decision:

Guilty

Reasons for Decision:

The player via his club corresponded with the RFL in advance of the tribunal indicating that the player would be pleading guilty, showing his remorse, indicating that he had a significant clean record and that there was an element of provocation.

After hearing the circumstances of the case on behalf of the RFL, the tribunal heard from Simon Grix essentially outlining that prior to this misbehaviour the player had been grabbed round the neck by a player from the opposing team.

Decision On Sanction (where found to have committed Misconduct)

Summary of CM's submissions on the appropriate sanction:

Given these are intentional acts and the need for the sport to protect itself from litigation and to be able to insure the game in the future, it was decided that such acts from 2022 onwards needed to be dealt with more severely in the future. They serve no good purpose in attracting potential sponsors and future participants to the game of Rugby League. The MRP would argue this is a violent punch and should attract a sanction at the higher end of the Grade D charge.

Summary of Player's submissions on the appropriate sanction:

Given the provocation mentioned the player would request the minimum possible suspension

Mitigating Factors:

Grapple tackle and head butt from his opponent prior to the punch

Reasons for Decision:

Taking all of the above into account, the tribunal felt that the appropriate penalty for this incident was a three match suspension together with a £250 fine. The tribunal with the match review panel that his was a Grade D offence.

Suspension:

3 matches