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Having been trialled at the World Rugby U20s Championship in South Africa, the TMO Bunker review is set to be used during the Summer Nations Series – aka the Rugby World Cup warm-ups.
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As is currently the case, clear and obvious red cards for foul play involving contact with the head will receive a red card resulting in the player being permanently removed from the game and unable to be replaced.
For any incident where a red card is not obvious, a yellow card will be issued and dedicated foul play reviewers – known as the Foul Play Review Officer – located in the ‘Bunker’ for formal review.
Once 10 minutes has elapsed, the yellow card is either upheld and the player returns to the action or it is upgraded and the player permanently leaves the field, unable to be replaced.
Referees will remain the lead decision-maker during matches, but during the current trial they will have the ability to refer any foul play incident to the bunker.
If the officiating team is unable to determine whether an incident warrants a red card after two-big screen replays but a minimum yellow card threshold is determined, the referee will cross their arms, signaling a formal review and the player will leave the field for 10 minutes as per the current sin-bin rules. The Foul Play Review Officer will then have up to eight minutes to review the incident using all available footage and technology, including Hawk-Eye split screen and zoom technology, to determine the outcome.
The Foul Play Review Officer will then communicate the decision to the officials and the referee will either uphold the yellow card and enable the player to return or upgrade to a red card with the player staying off the field and unable to be replaced.
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World Rugby has approved a trial of the Foul Play Review Offical which is commonly known as The Bunker. The outcomes of the current trial will be reviewed before sanctioning for Rugby World Cup 2023 🏆 #TMObunker pic.twitter.com/yXnjJwVPed
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) July 28, 2023
World Rugby will review the outcomes of the current trial before sanctioning for Rugby World Cup 2023.
A disaster in the making.