Case Detail
Case Number:
ON/770/23
James McDonnell #19, Leeds Rhinos
Competition:
Super League
Match:
Leeds v St Helens
Match Date:
2023-05-26
Incident:
Punching
Decision:
Charge
Charge Detail:
Law 15.1 (a)
Punching – One on One – Contact to the Head
Grade D
Sanctions:
2 Match Penalty Notice and a £250 Fine
Decision On Charge
Player plea:
Not Guilty
Summary of CM's submissions on the Charge / evidence:
• Match Review Panel reviewed an incident which occurred in the above match.
• Mr McDonell was dismissed following the incident.
• Following a knock on by Mr McDonnells teammate, he is confronted by St Helens player Jonny Lomax.
• Mr McDonnell reacts to this and goes and confronts Mr Lomax.
• The incident happens with just the two of them initially before others join the melee however the two players are always in proximity of one and other.
• In the Touch Judge’s report, it states that “Leeds Rhinos number 19 James McDonnell made a direct punch to the head against St Helens number 6 Jonny Lomax. This occurred approximately 10m from the St Helens goal line and 10 m in from touch. I had a clear view of the incident. The incident occurred in the 77th minute. The score at the time of the incident was 12-12.”
• The MRP submit based on the footage there is no conclusive evidence to suggest that the Match Official is not correct in this instance.
• Grade D due to:
- One punch thrown, which connects with the head area.
- Potential for injury to the head. Area of concern for the game.
- Violent act which brings the sport into disrepute and portrays the game in a negative light.
Summary of Player's submissions on the Charge / evidence:
Player reacted to Lomax goading of Sam Walters. Admitted he shouldn't have done so but there as only ever pushing and shoving with Lomax, no punch was thrown as both players had a grip of each other's shirts. The blood on Lomax had come from an earlier incident and can be clearly seen on images before the alleged punch.
Player and rep believe that the touch judge made an honest mistake.
Decision:
Not Guilty
Reasons for Decision:
The Panel directed ourselves in accordance with the appropriate burden and standard of proof namely that the compliance manager bears the burden of proof and has to establish that the misconduct has occurred to the reasonable satisfaction of the tribunal bearing in mind the seriousness of the allegation. The standard of proof is greater than a mere balance of probability but less than proof beyond a reasonable doubt.
We reviewed footage including a substantial amount of footage that had not been broadcast and footage which had not been seen by the Match Review Panel.
The player together with Matt Cook took us through a detailed analysis of the footage. It showed beyond doubt that Johnny Lomax was injured and bleeding heavily before the incident involving James McDonnell.
No punch can be seen on the footage and it was conceded by the Compliance Manager on behalf of the Match review panel that the footage was inconclusive. We were able to view the incident from a number of angles and di not see a punch thrown. We accept entirely that the touch judge was genuinely certain that at the time he saw a punch. However he was not able to point out the punch on the footage. We cannot rule out the fact that he may have been genuinely mistaken and therefore cannot be satisfied to the appropriate standard that a punch was thrown and we allow the appeal.