Uruguay winger, Juan Manuel Alonso, appeared before an independent judicial committee on Wednesday, 23 November having received a red card in Uruguay’s November internationals match against Tonga on 19 November, 2022. The red card was awarded pursuant to Law 9.17 (tackling a player in the air).
The independent judicial committee was chaired by Samantha Hillas KC (England), joined by former international player Bogdan Zebega (Romania) and former international referee Juan Pablo Spirandelli (Argentina).
The player accepted that he had committed the act of foul play and that the offence was worthy of a red card. Having considered the player’s evidence and reviewed the clips, the Committee categorised the conduct as being at the mid-range of the scale of seriousness and therefore the appropriate entry point for the offence was an eight-match suspension.
The Committee then took into consideration the mitigating factors and decided that the player was entitled to a three-match reduction in the sanction. The Committee decided there were no aggravating factors and therefore the final sanction was a five-match suspension.
The player is therefore suspended for the following:
- Costa Rica Sevens – 26-27 November, 2022
- Dubai Sevens – 2-3 December, 2022
- Cape Town Sevens – 9-11 December, 2022
- Hamilton Sevens – 21-22 January, 2023
- Sydney Sevens – 27-29 January, 2023
The player has the right of appeal within 48 hours of the issuing of the full written decision, which will appear here once published.
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Visit World Rugby’s dedicated disciplinary process education and information page here.