Case Number:

ON/046/24

Liam McLoughlin #3, Orrell St James

Competition:

Challenge Cup

Match:

Orrell St James v York Acorn

Match Date:

2024-01-28

Incident:

Dangerous Contact

Decision:

Charge

Charge Detail:

Law 15.1 (i)

Dangerous Contact – Defender uses any part of their body forcefully to twist, bend or otherwise apply pressure to the limb or limbs of an opposing player in a way that involves an unacceptable risk of injury to that player.

Grade F

Sanctions:

6+

Decision On Charge

Player plea:

Guilty but challenging the grading

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

Following a Match Review Panel meeting held on 1st February 2024, you are charged with misconduct for a breach of Law 15.1(i) during the above match.

The Panel reviewed an incident which occurred at 54 21 footage time of the above match. In the Panel’s opinion you have dropped your body onto an opponent leg applying pressure which has resulted in a serious injury.

In the Panel’s opinion your actions were serious misconduct and are against the spirit of the game.

In accordance with the RFL’s On Field Sentencing Guidelines, the Panel consider that such offence is a Grade F offence – Dangerous Contact – Defender uses any part of their body forcefully to twist, bend or otherwise apply pressure to the limb or limbs of an opposing player in a way that involves an unacceptable risk of injury to that player.

The normal suspension range for such offence is 6 matches plus.

• Match Review Panel reviewed an incident which occurred in the above match.

• The opponent can be seen to take a carry close to the try line and is contacted by Mr McLoughlin initially and then by other Orrell St James players.

• The opponent breaks through the initial contact with Mr McLoughlin who has a hold of his waist and is being dragged along.

• Mr McLoughlin initially whilst maintaining the grip, keeps his feet on the ground and moves with the opponent.

• The player then rotates his body and drops onto the leg of his opponent with his entire bodyweight.

• The opponent is in a vulnerable position.

• Mr McLoughlin actions are of a reckless nature.

• There is over an hour delay in the match as the opponent is treated for a dislocated knee cap.

• The Match Review panel felt due to the severity of the injury and the actions of the opponent that they should go outside of the grading specified within the Guidelines at 3.4 for this particular incident.

• Grade F due to:
- Highly reckless act of rotating body into opponent.
- Significant weight of player going through opponent’s leg.
- Opponent is in a vulnerable position and can in no way mitigate for the actions of Mr McLoughlin.
- Player is solely responsible for his actions.
- A serious injury has occurred in this instance.

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

Player in attendance alongside Ant Seddon (Registrations Secretary (and Sean McHugh (Head Coach). Player pleads guilty but challenges the grading.

AS talked the panel through the footage. He felt that LM’s shoulder was on the hip on the ball carrier. The ball carrier was far bigger than LM and his long strides and rotation of his hips in the tackle contributed to how it ended.

The Referee was in very close proximity and did not react to anything that had happened as the tackle was completed. There was also no reaction from the opposition and no blame asserted. The club feel this was an unfortunate accident.

LM then talked through the tackle. He felt his did not twit the opponent and was just trying to wrap him up and complete the tackle. The whole incident happened very quickly.

SM added that he had coached LM since he was a young child and he was of good character. He had a clean previous record; indeed, he has never even been sin-binned throughout his career. He felt that community players were not used to this level of scrutiny.

Decision:

Guilty plea

Decision On Sanction (where found to have committed Misconduct)

Reasons for Decision:

The panel reviewed an incident in which the player was felt to have committed a Grade F offence of Dangerous Contact. Having reviewed the footage, there was a brief discussion at the commencement of the proceedings to clarify what the player was submitting. The only real dispute at this stage was whether or not any malice was involved in the tackle and it was clarified at that stage that malice was not one of the requirements to have committed this offence. In those circumstances, the player, after such explanation changed his plea to guilty.

The Tribunal considered that this was in fact, a hip drop tackle, and that the players right foot came off the floor. He was reckless and had used a significant amount of force. Essentially, the full weight of the player went through the standing leg of his opponent.

The Tribunal felt that this was a deliberate and very reckless manoeuvre. It was submitted by the RFL that this should result in a 6-match suspension. That being the lower end of the Grade F sanctions.

The player had pleaded guilty and he was praised by his coach, such that the Tribunal were impressed by his attitude to the game over a significant period of time, he had not received any previous disciplinary issues before and was anxious to put his point across that this was not intentional or a malicious tackle.

The Tribunal took an unusual step of confirming that the tackle itself was a Grade F offence, but the felt it could go outside of the suggested guidelines given the plea, record, demeanour and attitude of the player taken towards the disciplinary procedure by reducing the suspension to 5-matches.

Suspension:

5 matches