REPORT: England captain could still face World Cup ban
NEWS: It seems like England’s concerns are far from over as captain Owen Farrell might still be banned for his tackle during the World Cup warm-up match against Wales at Twickenham.
The England flyhalf was yellow carded for a shoulder-led tackle to the head of Wales replacement Taine Basham in the final quarter.
However, it was later upgraded to red by the newly-introduced bunker review system.
While the England captain was expected to face a ban that would rule him out of the start of the World Cup, a disciplinary panel instead concluded that the offence was worthy of a sin-binning only and not a red card offence.
He was cleared to play immediately.
The all-Australian Independent Judicial Committee consisting of Adam Casselden SC – Chairman, John Langford and David Croft determined that Basham’s direction of travel was altered by an attempted tackle by Jamie George just before Farrell made his challenge.
The decision came as a shock as Farrell was recently banned in January for a high tackle on Gloucester’s Jack Clement and was also suspended in 2016 and 2020 for the same offence.
The captain was set to start against Ireland this weekend, but, that could all change as reports surfaced that World Rugby will appeal the panel’s verdict.
Rugby writer Murray Kinsella revealed the news on Wednesday via X (formerly Twitter).
“Hearing that World Rugby will appeal the Owen Farrell decision. No word on when the new hearing might take place, but presumably has to be before this weekend,” Kinsella’s post read.
Should the verdict be appealed, it could mean that Farrell could face a potential ban that could rule him out of the entire World Cup pool stages, with the entry point of suspension set to be at six matches.
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