2023-09-07 05:58:17
“Why does he go out for ten minutes when he took a yellow card? », « Why is there no red? », « Why is it not like football? »… The questions will arise in front of the decisions of the referees during the matches of the Rugby World Cup. To anticipate, and better understand them, we take stock of the sanctions against the players.
The yellow card: a temporary exclusion
In football, the yellow card is a warning before an exclusion. In rugby, it is synonymous with temporary exclusion and a big disadvantage for a team. If the referee shows a yellow card against a player, the latter will have to join the bench and leave his partners at 14 against 15 for ten minutes.
To justify this yellow card, the reasons are multiple, as explained by rule number 9 on foul play issued by World Rugby. We can mention in particular the repetition of the same fault, certain voluntary forwards under the judge’s discretion, or on a high tackle. For the most risky actions, the referee will, in the vast majority of cases, have to assess “the level of danger” of the act of the offender, to know if he should show the yellow card, or the card red which rhymes with definitive expulsion.
If the referee in the field hesitates about a sanction during this 2023 World Cup despite the few slow-motion videos offered, he will be able to use the “bunker”, a new tool available to make the game smoother. The referee will first brandish a yellow card, and for the next eight minutes, the “TMO Bunker”, at a distance, will review the sequence more extensively to decide whether to confirm the yellow card, or to transform it into red.
The red card: a final expulsion
So there is no question there. In the majority of sports, the red card is synonymous with very bad news, with the final expulsion of one of the players. Like the yellow card, the cases of red cards are cited in rule number 9. To issue the ultimate sanction, the referee will above all assess the level of dangerousness and intentionality of the fault.
“Players must not do anything that is reckless or dangerous to others. (…) A player must not physically or verbally attack anyone. Physical assault includes but is not limited to biting, punching, making contact with the eye, eyes or eye area, hitting with any part of the arm, shoulder, head or knees, trample, trip or kick”, can we read in particular on World Rugby.
The second line of the France team, Sébastien Vahaamahina, for example, was excluded for a voluntary nudge in the face of a Welshman, in the quarter-finals of the 2019 World Cup. World Rugby last March , announced to set up a “zero tolerance” in particular on the contacts with the head, which will be particularly scrutinized and sanctioned.
Last case, if a player, who has already received a yellow card, receives a second one after returning to play, as in football, the latter will be excluded and will not be able to return to play.
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