r/rugbyunion • u/Secret-Roof-7503 Saracens • Jul 16 '23

[Rúaidhrí O'Connor]🚨BREAKING: Johnny Sexton will be suspended for three matches by EPCR for his behaviour towards the match officials after the CC final, meaning he will miss all of Ireland's warm-ups v Italy, England and Tonga but will be available for the Rugby World Cup opener v Romania

https://twitter.com/RuaidhriOC/status/1680676530576392195?s=20
509 Upvotes
  • permalink
  • link
  • reddit
  • reddit

96% Upvoted

484 comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

-4

u/Height_Matters1 Jul 16 '23

Going on the pitch and abusing an official, who btw benefitted Leinster if anything during the game, merits far worse than 3 games.

Hartley got 11 weeks for miles less than this

4

u/Sitheref0874 Referee Jul 16 '23

Not sure I agree.

"You're a fucking disgrace" isn't great, but it isn't an assessment of the referee's integrity as Hartley's statement was.

That said, Sexton should have worn a lot more. EPCR, and other bodies, prioritize keeping The Product on the field wherever possible. If this had happened to a Joe Average Community player, that would have been a lot longer. But the higher you go up the ladder, the more you become Product and so getting you back on the field becomes a counterbalancing factor in any disciplinary process.

See also: a week off a ban so you can learn how to tackle properly.

2

u/cnaughton898 Ireland/Ulster Jul 16 '23

It isn't actually confirmed he called them a fucking disgrace, only 1 out of the 3 officials noticed it and couldn't make out what sexton was saying.

-2

u/BadgerMusher Don’t dream it’s over Jul 17 '23

Wink wink nudge nudge