As was widely expected and predicted, the red card handed down to Franco Mostert for his ‘high tackle’ against Italy has effectively been dismissed and downgraded after a disciplinary review.
The experienced lock has officially seen his red card “expunged from his disciplinary record” and as a result, he is now free to play, and will be available for selection this weekend against Ireland.
HERE IS WHAT WAS DECIDED AROUND THE FRANCO MOSTERT RED CARD REVERSAL
In a press release issued on Wednesday, it was revealed that a key detail in the ‘acquittal’ was related to the review of footage that showed that “initial contact was directly to the shoulder”.
“South Africa No 5, Franco Mostert, appeared before an independent Disciplinary Committee on Tuesday evening via video link, having received a red card for an act of foul play contrary to Law 9.13 in the match between Italy and South Africa on Saturday 15th November 2025,” a statement read.
“The independent Disciplinary Committee was chaired by Stephen Hardy (Australia), who was joined by former players Ofisa Tonu’u (New Zealand) and Jamie Corsi (Wales).
“Having conducted a detailed review of all available evidence, including all camera angles and additional evidence and submissions made by and on behalf of the Player, the Disciplinary Committee determined that although there had been head contact and an act of foul play occurring within the incident, the offending did not reach the Red Card threshold.
“Rather, the evidence established that the initial contact made by the Player was directly to the shoulder of Italy 10 with there being “daylight” between the shoulder contact and head/neck area of Italy 10. Head contact was then found to have occurred, but was found to be secondary to the initial shoulder contact and made with much lower force and without the requisite level of “danger” required under World Rugby’s Head Contact Process to make the offending reach the red card threshold.
“The Red Card has accordingly been dismissed and will be expunged from the Player’s disciplinary record.
“As a result, the Player is now free to play and available for selection this weekend.”
Team announcement on Thursday
Perhaps waiting to see what the outcome of the Mostert disciplinary hearing would be, the Springboks previously confirmed that the team announcement this week will take place on Thursday, at around 14:45 (SA time).
