Coetzee cited for spear tackle
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Lions hooker Robbie Coetzee has been cited for alleged foul play during the Super Rugby match against the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein on Saturday.
Coetzee was lucky to escape a red card after the hooker performed a dangerous tip-tackle on Cheetahs replacement wing Rayno Benjamin in the 49th minute of the game.
Referee, Jaco van Heerden, referred the decision upstairs to Television Match Official Marius Jonker. Both officials bizarrely opted for a yellow card despite replays showing Coetzee clearly lifting his opponent above the horizontal and driving his head into the ground.
Upon further review of the match footage, the Citing Commissioner deemed in his opinion the incident had met the red card threshold for foul play.
Coetzee is alleged to have contravened 10.4 (j): Lifting a player from the ground and dropping or driving that player into the ground whilst that player’s feet are still off the ground such that the player’s head and/or upper body come into contact with the ground is dangerous play.
Following initial consideration by the SANZAR Duty Judicial Officer Nigel Hampton QC, Coetzee will appear at a SANZAR Judicial Hearing on Tuesday, May 25.
The Judicial Officer for the hearing will be Robert Stelzner SC
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