Case Number:

ON/1095/24

Gareth Gale #5, Featherstone

Competition:

Championship

Match:

Featherstone Rovers v Whitehaven

Match Date:

2024-07-07

Incident:

Head Contact

Decision:

Charge

Charge Detail:

Law 15.1 (b)

Head Contact

Grade E

Fine:

£375

Sanctions:

3-5

Decision On Charge

Player plea:

Guilty but challenge the grading

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

Following a Match Review Panel meeting held on 11th July 2024, you are charged with misconduct for a breach of Law 15.1(b) during the above match.

The Panel reviewed an incident which occurred at 12 54 footage time of the above match. In the Panel’s opinion you have contacted your opponent in the head or neck. The Panel believe your actions were serious misconduct and 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 E offence – Head Contact.

The normal suspension range for such offence is 3 to 5 matches.

• Match Review Panel reviewed an incident in the above match.
• The match referee placed the incident On Report.
• The report stated that “Whitehaven was attacking the final 20m. On a short side play Owen goes into contact and Gareth hits him front on. I didn’t see anything in the initial contact and after consulting my touch judge he didn’t either. Due to him going down and the doctor coming on i put the incident on report.”
• The MRP accept the footage does not show the point of contact however given the aftermath, can come to no other reasonable conclusion that Mr Gale has contacted his opponent in the head and neck area.
• Mr Gale’s shoulders are above the shoulders of the opponent on contact which is evident in the footage.
• The opponent loses the ball and goes to ground but there is no other plausible outcome as to how he has sustained a head injury, given we do not see after the tackle the opponent contacting another opponent or the ground.
• The incident led to the ball carrier leaving the field of play and not returning. Subsequent information confirms that the opponent failed his Head Injury Assessment.
• The Match Review Panel deemed this to be forceful and dangerous and that this was high level of force and danger. For a contact to the head with high level of force and danger, the entry grading the Match Review Panel submit is a Grade D charge.
• The Match Review Panel do not believe that there were any mitigating factors at play with regards this incident.
• The aggravating factors are:
- Tackler makes no definite attempt to change height to avoid the ball carrier’s head.
- The trajectory of the tackler’s shoulder/arm is always going towards the ball carrier’s head.
- Ball carrier fails HIA.
• The Match Review Panel believe that the aggravating factors are sufficient to move this to a Grade E charge.

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

Player in attendance alongside James Ford (Head Coach) and Martin Vickers (CEO). Player pleads guilty but challenges the grading.

JF felt that whilst challenging the grading of the offence the club could challenge the guilt, however, they’d require a view of the incident form the opposite side in order to show that there was no head contact.

On the basis that there is no visual evidence of contact with the head he can’t honestly say there was no contact, although neither the Touch Judge or Referee saw any as per their reports.

Scientifically, concussion can be caused without any direct contact with the head, and the footage shows that the player wraps the opponent whose head does not move backwards in the collision.

Decision:

Guilty plea

Decision On Sanction (where found to have committed Misconduct)

Reasons for Decision:

What the Tribunal see is the attacked coming forward and a teammate of the players (no.14) come in. The player then comes in and does so in a fairly upright position and in the panels view does not make any attempt wrap his arms around the attacker.

It is clear that whilst there is no head-to-head contact you do see the attackers head go towards the players right shoulder. As the player starts to rise into contact this mirrors the attacker’s head which in the panels view does move backwards as if hit by the shoulder. Given the clear discomfort and failed HIA then this must be forceful contact with the head.

The fact the Match Officials did not see this is not sufficient to change the panels opinion given the angles and speed of play.

Therefore, the panel are comfortably satisfied that there is forceful contact with the head of the attacker. This means the charge would start at Grade D. However, given the following aggravating factors:

• The player’s shoulder was always going to make contact with the head of the ball carrier
• The opponent is removed from the field and fails his HIA
• There is no definitive attempt to change height in an effort to avoid the ball carrier’s head
The panel are of the view that the appropriate grading is Grade E as charged.

The appropriate suspension is therefore 4-matched and there will also be a fine of £375.

Suspension:

4 matches