England captain Owen Farrell has been cleared to play at the Rugby World Cup after his red card against Wales was rescinded at a disciplinary hearing on Tuesday.
Farrell was facing a potential six-week ban that would have ruled him out of the start of next month’s World Cup after he was sent off for a dangerous tackle on Taine Basham on Saturday.
However, an all-Australian disciplinary panel ruled that the Foul Play Review Officer “was wrong, on the balance of probabilities, to upgrade the yellow card issued to the player to a red card.
“On that basis, the Committee did not uphold the red card and the player is free to play again immediately.”
The mid-range sanction for a dangerous tackle is six games and, given Farrell had received a three-match ban for the same offence in January, on top of five matches in 2020 and two in 2016, it was expected he would not be treated leniently in the disciplinary process.
Farrell admitted to the panel that his shoulder-led tackle to the head of Basham, who as a result failed an Head Injury Assessment, was illegal but worthy of only 10 minutes in the sin-bin.
But the video hearing decided that a “late change in dynamics” due to Jamie George’s involvement in the contact area “brought about a sudden and significant change in direction from the ball carrier”.
The new ‘bunker’ review system was called into action as on-field referee Nika Amashukeli could not decide if Farrell’s tackle on Basham warranted a straight red card.
But in coming to its verdict, the panel claimed no criticism of the foul play review officer was being made given the time in which he had to review the incident and make a decision.
“Unlike the foul play review officer, the committee had the luxury of time to deliberate and consider, in private, the incident and the proper application of the head contact process,” the panel said.
Farrell, 31, has endured repeated criticism for his aggressive tackling style, with his most recent suspension coming after an illegal challenge on Gloucester’s Jack Clement in January.
That ban was reduced from four to three games after the England fly-half completed tackle school, enabling him to face Scotland in the Six Nations opener.
Farrell’s latest escape ensures he will be available for England’s World Cup warm-up fixtures against Ireland on Saturday and Fiji on August 26.
Steve Borthwick’s side launch their group campaign against Argentina in Marseille on September 9.
England also face Japan, Chile and Samoa in Pool D.
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