Recent Owen Farrell ban taken into account in three-game sanction for Harlequins' Elia Elia

Harlequins hooker Elia Elia has received a three-match ban for being sent off for making a tip tackle on Dan Robson in Monday’s Gallagher Premiership defeat by Wasps.

Elia accepted the charge at an online independent disciplinary panel after being shown a red card for lifting Robson above the horizontal in the 53rd minute of the clash at Twickenham Stoop.

“While the offence was reckless rather than intentional, it was nevertheless clearly dangerous,” said the panel, who reduced the entry-point sanction by three games because of his good record.

“As the referee correctly noted, the fact that Wasps No9 had broken the fall with his arm did not mitigate the offence to bring it below the red card threshold.

“The player had one previous offence recorded against him, which was some time ago while he was 19. Given the factual position was similar to that found in the recent Owen Farrell decision, a 50 per cent discount from the entry point was also applied here.”

He faced a 10-game ban before off-field mitigation factors were taken into accounthttps://t.co/lz6AUdyenw

— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) September 8, 2020

With just one round of the regular Premiership season left to play and Quins unable to reach the semi-finals, Elia is not free to play again until November 30.

His suspension covers Harlequins’ last game of the 2019/20 season against Leicester this Sunday and the first two games of the 2020/21 season on the November 20 v Exeter Chiefs and the game versus Northampton on the weekend of November 27-29.

England captain Farrell had been banned for five games on September 9, a sanction that was 50 per cent less than the ten-game entry point for his red-carded tackle on Wasps’ Charlie Atkinson while playing for Saracens in the Premiership. 

That suspension ends on Monday as Saracens’ final top-flight game against Bath on Sunday will be the fifth game he will have missed since his disciplinary hearing.  

Down to the wire https://t.co/2CpsttoMVj

— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) October 2, 2020