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Jordie Barrett red card dismissed following SANZAAR judicial hearing
By
Alex McLeod
All Blacks fullback Jordie Barrett’s red card has been dismissed by a SANZAAR judicial committee following his send off in last weekend’s clash against the Wallabies in Perth.
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Barrett was issued a red card by Damon Murphy midway through the first half of the third and final Bledisloe Cup match of the year at Optus Stadium after he struck Wallabies wing Marika Koroibete in the face with the studs on his boot while receiving a kick.
The incident caused an uproar as debate brewed over whether the correct decision had been made given the innocuous nature of Barrett’s offence.
The SANZAAR judicial committee – made up of Robert Stelzner SC, De Wet Barry and Jose Luis Rolandi – have reached the conclusion that Barrett’s indiscretion was unintentional while he fronted a judicial hearing on Tuesday night.
As a result, the judicial committee found Barrett not guilty of contravening Law 9.11, which stipulates that players must not do anything that is reckless or dangerous to others.
“Having conducted a detailed review of all the available evidence, including all camera angles and additional evidence, including from the player, a medical report on the opposition player involved, and from two expert witnesses, and having considered the submissions from his legal representative, Stephen Cottrell, the judicial committee found that the player had not transgressed Rule 9.11 and had therefore not committed an act of foul play,” Stelzner, the judicial committee chair, said in a statement.
“He legitimately went up in the air to collect a high ball, when in trying to regain his balance on the downward trajectory, his boot inadvertently made contact with his opponent’s head.
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“The accidental nature of the incident lead the judicial committee to find that there was no intentional nor reckless act of dangerous play, with the result that the red card is expunged from the player’s record.”
SANZAAR’s verdict means Barrett will be free for selection as early as this weekend, when the All Blacks take on Los Pumas at Cbus Super Stadium on the Gold Coast on Sunday.
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