Benetton lose star player at a crucial time
DISCIPLINARY UPDATE: Tommaso Benvenuti of Benetton faced a Disciplinary Hearing via video conference and has been banned for a period of two weeks as a result.
A Disciplinary Committee met in Edinburgh (Scotland) to consider the citing against Benvenuti (No.13) which occurred as a result of the Round 20 Pro14 fixture with Munster last Friday.
The player was reported by the Citing Commissioner in charge for an infringement of Law 9.20 – A player must not make contact with an opponent above the line of the shoulders. The player was shown a yellow card at the time by referee Ben Whitehouse.
The Disciplinary Committee comprising of Rory Bannerman (Chair), Frank Hadden and Jennifer Rae (all Scotland) concluded that the player had committed an act of foul play.
In upholding the Citing Complaint, the Disciplinary Committee deemed that the offence merited a red card with a mid-range entry point of four weeks. The panel did not find any aggravating factors and applied 50 percent mitigation (two weeks) in respect of the player’s admission of facts, his previously clean disciplinary record across his career and his conduct both after the game and during the hearing.
As a result, the player is banned for a period of two weeks and will be free to play from midnight on Sunday, May 5, 2019 provided Benetton reach the knock-out stages of the Pro14 Championship.
Should Benetton play only one more game this season, then Benvenuti’s ban will extend to August 11, 2019 to ensure the ban covers two meaningful matches – this would cover the Italy versus Ireland fixture on August 10, 2019 in Dublin.
The player was reminded of his right to appeal.
