Following the red card dished out to Eben Etzebeth against Wales last Saturday, his disciplinary hearing was scheduled for Tuesday, and he was expected to learn his fate on Wednesday.
Considering the nature of his reckless act, the disciplinary panel would need to decide if his actions were ‘intentional’ or simply ‘reckless’, and the range of his ban could be anything between eight weeks and 24 weeks.
However, according to Netwerk24, the nature of this case led to a strange twist as the disciplinary panel could apparently not agree on an appropriate punishment at the first hearing.
The case will now need to be reassessed – and agreement reached – before a final judgement can be handed down, but it again has highlighted how this incident appears to have divided opinions even among the disciplinary panel.
Mitigation factors for Eben Etzebeth?
It’s expected that the team representing the Springbok lock will have made the case that he was reacting to a ‘provocation’ of sorts when he was seen to be in a scuffle at a previous breakdown.
There is also another mitigating factor to consider, which is the fact that this is his first red card in 141 Test matches.
Despite the latest twist, Etzebeth is undoubtedly facing a lengthy ban.
Commenting on Eben Etzebeth’s red card late in the match on Saturday, Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus admitted it didn’t look good.
“I don’t know what I can say at this stage. It didn’t look good, and I thought it was a justified red card. I’m not sure if it was provoked, but that’s not the way we want to play.”
Sharks sure to be ‘annoyed’
Watching this whole process unfold, the Sharks will now be waiting to see how many weeks of their season Etzebeth will miss, which could have a huge impact on their URC and Champions Cup campaigns.
