New Zealand second-row, Tom Allen, appeared before an independent judicial committee on Tuesday, 11 July, having received a red card in New Zealand’s fifth place semi-final against Australia at the World Rugby U20 Championship 2023 on 9 July. The red card was awarded pursuant to Law 9.18 (lifting tackle).
The independent Disciplinary Committee was chaired by Jean-Noël Couraud (France), joined by former international referees Donal Courtney (Ireland) and Valeriu Toma (Romania).
The player accepted that foul play occurred and that the offending warranted a red card. Having considered all evidence including the mitigating factors the Committee decided that the offence warranted a low-end entry point of six matches. The committee decided to apply the maximum mitigation which reduces the sanction by the maximum of 50 per cent. The final sanction is three matches as follows:
- Georgia v New Zealand – 14 July, 2023
- Hawke’s Bay v Auckland – 23 July, 2023
- Hawke’s Bay v Waikato – 28 July, 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.
Click here to watch the video that explains how rugby’s disciplinary process works.
Visit World Rugby’s dedicated disciplinary process education and information page here.